Reading at Hogwarts: Harry Potter: Book 4
by TheAngelsCryInBlood
Summary: The Goblet is started and just in time for Christmas
1. The Riddle House

After a mostly normal week with the archangels running around, helping the twins prank and Harry and Michael trying to hug Gabriel to death Monday brought the next book but they were still in the time loop so effectively they were a week ahead in work. Everyone was wearing their own clothes and most of the Slytherins had transfigured muggle clothes for the day and the archangels were in their 'uniforms' with different t-shirts, today they were all wearing different tapout t-shirts.  
"I will read." Madma Maxine announced and took a much thicker book from the pile.

**CHAPTER ONE: THE RIDDLE HOUSE **Everyone stiffened thinking back to the second book.

**The villagers of little hangleton still called it 'the Riddle House', even though it had been may years since the riddle family had lived there.**

"I thought Voldemort was an orphan?" Hannah asked and Harry smiled from his place next to Fleur.

"Yeah but he still had family somewhere even if they left him." He explained.

**It stood on a hill overlooking the village, some of its windows boarded, tiles missing from the roof, and ivy spreading unchecked over its face. **

"Pleasant." Narcissa wrinkled her nose as did a few others.

**Once a fine-looking manor, and easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, the riddle house was now damp, derelict and unoccupied.**

"Why would someone let a house like that go to waist." Fleur shook her head.

**The Little Hangletons all agreed that the old house was "creepy." **

"I'm not surprised." Astoria mumbled.

**Half a century ago, something strange and horrible had happened there, something that the older inhabitants of the village still liked to discuss when topics for gossip were scarce. **

Minerva sniffed slightly and Sirius laughed. "Problem Minnie?"

"Quiet Black." She snapped.

**The story had been picked over so many times, and had been embroidered in so many places, that nobody was quite sure what the truth was anymore. Every version of the tale, however, started in the same place: Fifty years before, at daybreak on a fine summer's morning when the Riddle House had still been well kept and impressive, a maid had entered the drawing room to find all three Riddles dead.**

"Frankly they deserved it." Gabriel announced much to people's surprise.

**The maid had run screaming down the hill into the village and roused as many people as she could.**

"And for that I don't think anyone can blame them." Susan shivered.

"**Lying there with their eyes wide open! Cold as ice! Still in their dinner things!"**

"And that's worth being in hysterics?" Lucifer said with a raised eyebrow.

"We're not all the devil." Harry smiled cheekily and the three other angels snorted.

**The police were summoned, and the whole of Little Hangleton had seethed with shocked curiosity and ill-disguised excitement. **

"Uhhh, Humans." The angels threw their heads back all the while receiving a huge number of glares.

**Nobody wasted their breath pretending to feel very sad about the Riddles, for they had been most unpopular. Elderly Mr. and Mrs. Riddle had been rich, snobbish, and rude, and their grown-up son, Tom, had been, if anything, worse. **

"And the next generation is even worse, can you imagine if Voldemort had a kid?" Hannah asked and shivers went threw the room like a Mexican wave.

**All the villagers cared about was the identity of their murderer — for plainly; three apparently healthy people did not all drop dead of natural causes on the same night.**

"Weeeeelllllll." Gabriel dragged out with a slight smirk for Andromeda's hand to connect with her head, the cherubim pouted cutely making her siblings mock coo and many giggle to straight out laugh.

**The Hanged Man, the village pub, **

"That's a pub name?" Draco asked and Hermione jumped in.

"A lot of pubs have their names for a reason, a likely thing is that the pub once over looked a gallows as pubs, really known as public houses were just peoples homes." She explained but a few still wrinkled their noses.

**did a roaring trade that night; the whole village seemed to have turned out to discuss the murders. **

"To be honest I'd be there." The Greengrass sisters added in and quite a few nodded.

**They were rewarded for leaving their firesides when the Riddles' cook arrived dramatically in their midst and announced to the suddenly silent pub that a man called Frank Bryce had just been arrested.**

"Of course they 'ad to tell." Fleur made a dark noise in the back of her throat and Remus and Bill nodded firmly.

"**Frank!" cried several people. "Never!"**

**Frank Bryce was the Riddles' gardener. He lived alone in a run-down cottage on the grounds of the Riddle House. Frank had come back from the war with a very stiff leg and a great dislike of crowds and loud noises, and had been working for the Riddles ever since.**

"It's a shame what war does to people." Amelia sighed and the angels nodded.

**There was a rush to buy the cook drinks and hear more details.**

"**Always thought he was odd," she told the eagerly listening villagers, after her fourth sherry. "Unfriendly, like. I'm sure if I've offered him a cuppa once, I've offered it a hundred times. Never wanted to mix, he didn't."**

"Oh come on! He's just different, it's the same prejudice that everyone in the wizarding world has." Harry complained.

"**Ah, now," said a woman at the bar, "he had a hard war, Frank. He likes the quiet life. That's no reason to —"**

A few people applauded her.

**"Who else had a key to the back door, then?" barked the cook. "There's been a spare key hanging in the gardener's cottage far back as I can remember! Nobody forced the door last night! No broken windows! All Frank had to do was creep up to the big house while we was all sleeping…"**

"But they were in their dinner things so you wouldn't have been asleep and how do you kill someone without a sound?" Anthony said logically.

"True the most likely cause in the muggle world would be poison." Michael Corner agreed.

"And the person most likely to do that is the cook." Terry added in what the other two were thinking.

**The villagers exchanged dark looks.**

"**I always thought that he had a nasty look about him, right enough," grunted a man at the bar.**

"**War turned him funny, if you ask me," said the landlord.**

"**Told you I wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of Frank, didn't I, Dot?" said an excited woman in the corner.**

"**Horrible temper," said Dot, nodding fervently. "I remember when he was a kid…"**

"Why does that seem familiar?" Harry said darkly and Theo pulled him close to his side and Harry sighed, relaxing against his boyfriend.

**By the following morning, hardly anyone in Little Hangleton doubted that Frank Bryce had killed the Riddles. But over in the neighbouring town of Great Hangleton, in the dark and dingy police station, Frank was stubbornly repeating, again and again, that he was innocent,**

The Gryffins cheered for him much to the other houses surprise but they easily forgot that they appreciated honesty and people sticking to the truth.

**and that the only person he had seen near the house on the day of the Riddles' deaths had been a teenage boy, a stranger, dark-haired and pale. Nobody else in the village had seen any such boy, and the police were quite sure Frank had invented him.**

"Oh he didn't." Michael mumbled.

**Then, just when things were looking very serious for Frank, the report on the Riddles' bodies came back and changed everything. The police had never read an odder report. A team of doctors had examined the bodies and had concluded that none of the Riddles had been poisoned, stabbed, shot, strangles, suffocated, or (as far as they could tell) harmed at all. **

"Killing curse." Moody grunted and many people agreed while Cedric shivered.

**In fact (the report continued, in a tone of unmistakable bewilderment), the Riddles all appeared to be in perfect health — apart from the fact that they were all dead.**

Gabriel couldn't repress a snort and a few others followed.

**The doctors did note (as though determined to find something wrong with the bodies) that each of the Riddles had a look of terror upon his or her face — but as the frustrated police said, whoever heard of three people being frightened to death?**

The angels whistled but no one did anything but roll their eyes.

**As there was no proof that the Riddles had been murdered at all, the police were forced to let Frank go.**

"Good." The word was scattered threw out the room.

**The Riddles were buried in the Little Hangleton churchyard, and their graves remained objects of curiosity for a while. To everyone's surprise, and amid a cloud of suspicion, Frank Bryce returned to his cottage on the grounds of the Riddle House.**

"It's his home, of course he came back." Someone muttered.

"**As far as I'm concerned, he killed them, and I don't care what the police say," said Dot in the Hanged Man. "And if he had any decency, he'd leave here, knowing as how we know he did it."**

"Wonder if she'd still alive." Raphael thought out loud.

"Doubt it." Sirius chipped in.

**But Frank did not leave. He stayed to tend the garden for the next family who lived in the Riddle House, and then the next — for neither family stayed long.**

"I'd love a house like that." Ron muttered and Ginny nodded firmly.

**Perhaps it was partly because of Frank that the new owners said there was a nasty feeling about the place, which, in the absence of inhabitants, started to fall into disrepair.**

**The wealthy man who owned the Riddle House these days neither lived there nor put it to any use; They said in the village that he kept it for "tax reasons," though nobody was very clear what these might be. **

"That was Lord Potter at the time, back then in the wizarding world if you have so much money and not so many properties how much you pay in tax goes up." Remus told them and people gave a 'huh'.

**The wealthy owner continued to pay Frank to do the gardening, however. Frank was nearing his seventy-seventh birthday now, very deaf, his bad leg stiffer than ever, but could be seen pottering around the flower beds in fine weather, even though the weeds were starting to creep up on him, try as he might to suppress them.**

"At least he's doing what he can and not giving up." Flitwick squeaked and the Gryffindors roared in agreement.

**Weeds were not the only things Frank had to contend with either. Boys from the village made a habit of throwing stones through the windows of the Riddle House. They rode their bicycles over the lawns Frank worked so hard to keep smooth. Once or twice, they broke into the old house for a dare. **

Molly shook her head and started to rant and Gabriel counted from 30 to 1, smartly Molly had stopped before she got to the end of that countdown.

**They knew that old Frank's devotion to the house and the grounds amounted almost to an obsession, and it amused them to see him limping across the garden, brandishing his stick and yelling croakily at them. **

"Gits" Dean called out as a few others voiced similar things.

**Frank, for his part, believed the boys tormented him because they, like their parents and grandparents, thought him a murderer. **

"No if they truly did they'd be to scared to go near him." Susan explained and others nodded.

**So when Frank awoke one night in August and saw something very odd up at the old house, he merely assumed that the boys had gone one step further in their attempts to punish him.**

Heads cocked to the side.

**It was Frank's bad leg that woke him; it was paining him worse than ever in his old age. He got up and limped downstairs into the kitchen with the idea of refilling his hot-water bottle to ease the stiffness in his knee. Standing at the sink, filling the kettle, he looked up at the Riddle House and saw lights glimmering in its upper windows. Frank knew at once what was going on. The boys had broken into the house again, and judging by the flickering quality of the light, they had started a fire.**

"If only that's all it was." Harry mumbled under his breath and Theo gently kissed his temple.

**Frank had no telephone, in any case, he had deeply mistrusted the police ever since they had taken him in for questioning about the Riddles' deaths. **

"I know the feeling." Sirius growled.

**He put down the kettle at once, hurried back upstairs as fast as his bad leg would allow, and was soon back in his kitchen, fully dressed and removing a rusty old key from its hook by the door. He picked up his walking stick, which was propped against the wall, and set off into the night.**

"Why do I get the feeling this will end badly?" Fleur looked as sick as others felt.

**The front door of the Riddle House bore no sign of being forced, nor did any of the windows.**

"Very badly." Bill whispered.

**Frank limped around to the back of the house until he reached a door almost completely hidden by ivy, took out the old key, put it into the lock, and opened the door noiselessly.**

"A skilled man." The twins commented in sombre voices and Lee brought his knees to his chest, they'd guessed what would happen and were waiting for other to accept it.

**He let himself into the cavernous kitchen. Frank had not entered it for many years; nevertheless, although it was very dark, he remembered where the door into the hall was, and he groped his way towards it, his nostrils full of the smell of decay, ears pricked for any sound of footsteps or voices from overhead.**

"He sounds like a muggle version of Mad-eye." Tonks muttered as a compliment.

**He reached the hall, which was a little lighter owing to the large mullioned windows on either side of the front door, and started to climb the stairs, blessing the dust that lay thick upon the stone, because it muffled the sound of his feet and stick. On the landing, Frank turned right, and saw at once where the intruders were: **

Harry closed his eyes not wanting to think and Theo pulled him even closer.

**At the very end of the passage a door stood ajar, and a flickering light shone through the gap, casting a long sliver of gold across the black floor. Frank edged closer and closer, he was able to see a narrow slice of the room beyond.**

**The fire, he now saw, had been lit in the grate. This surprised him. **

People started bowing their heads know, mostly the Griffins and they fell entirely silent.

**Then he stopped moving and listened intently, for a man's voice spoke within the room; it sounded timid and fearful.**

"**There is a little more in the bottle, My Lord, if you are still hungry."**

Harry shook violently but would not say a word in respect, he would not break the otherwise silence that had fallen over all Gryffindors.

"**Later," said a second voice. This too belonged to a man — but it was strangely high-pitched, and cold as a sudden blast of icy wind. Something about that voice made the sparse hairs on the back of Frank's neck stand up. "Move me closer to the fire, Worm tail."**

The remaining Marauders stiffened but did not say a word, just kept their heads bowed.

**Frank turned his right ear toward the door, the better to hear. There came the clink of a bottle being put down upon some hard surface, and then the dull scraping noise of a heavy chair being dragged across the floor. Frank caught a glimpse of a small man, his back to the door, pushing the chair into place. He was wearing a long black cloak, and there was a bald patch at the back of his head. Then he went out of sight again.**

"**Where is Nagini?" said the cold voice.**

Harry shivered at the mention of that snake for a different reason but refused to move.

"**I — I don't know, My Lord," said the first voice nervously. "She set out to explore the house, I think…"**

**"You will milk her before we retire, Wormtail," **

People wanted to ask but suddenly the answer was in their heads, milking a snake was extracting the venom, so the heavy silence wasn't broken.

**said the second voice. "I will need feeding in the night. The journey has tired me greatly."**

**Brow furrowed, Frank inclined his good ear still closer to the door, listening very hard. There was a pause, and then the man called Wormtail spoke again.**

"**My Lord, may I ask how long we are going to stay here?"**

"**A week," said the cold voice. "Perhaps longer. The place is moderately comfortable, and the plan cannot proceed yet. It would be foolish to act before the Quidditch World Cup is over."**

"So he had..." People glared at Fudge and every lion made him want to curl up more as, _every_one of them did it.

**Frank inserted a gnarled finger into his ear and rotated it. Owing, no doubt, to a buildup of earwax, he had heard the word "Quidditch," which was not a word at all.**

"**The — the Quidditch World Cup, My Lord?" said Wormtail. (Frank dug his finger still more vigorously into his ear.) "Forgive me, but — I do not understand – why should we wait until the World Cup is over?"**

Gabriel mimed slapping her forehead but would not do it as she to bowed her head in respect.

"**Because, fool, at this very moment wizards are pouring into the country from all over the world, and every meddler from the Ministry of Magic will be on duty, on the watch for signs of unusual activity, checking and double-checking identities. They will be obsessed with security, lest the Muggles notice anything. So we wait."**

Moody nodded his head but his normal eye was firmly on the table in front of him.

**Frank stopped trying to clear out his ear. He had distinctly heard the words "Ministry of Magic," "wizards," and "Muggles." Plainly, each of these expressions meant something secret, and Frank could think of only two sorts of people who would speak in code: spies and criminals.**

Some smiled sadly, he was a smart man thinking like that and it was such a shame.

**Frank tightened his hold on his walking stick once more, and listened more closely still.**

"**Your Lordship is still determined, then?" Wormtail said quietly.**

"**Certainly I am determined, Wormtail." There was a note of menace in the cold voice now.**

People waited in perfect silence, not one dare break it.

**A slight pause followed — and the Wormtail spoke, the words tumbling from him in a rush, as though he was forcing himself to say this before he lost his nerve.**

"**It could be done without Harry Potter, My Lord."**

Sirius' eyes snapped closed and Remus clenched his fist.

**Another pause, more protracted, and then —**

"**Without Harry Potter?" breathed the second voice softly. "I see…"**

"**My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!" said Wormtail, his voice rising squeakily. "The boy is nothing to me, nothing at all!**

Their jaws tightened and all of the Gryffindors seethed.

**It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard — any wizard — the thing could be done so much more quickly! If you allowed me to leave you for a short while — you know that I can disguise myself most effectively — I could be back here in as little as two days with a suitable person —"**

Harry would have given a hollow laugh if not for his respect.

"**I could use another wizard," said the cold voice softly, "that is true…"**

"**My Lord, it makes sense," said Wormtail, sounding thoroughly relieved now. "Laying hands on Harry Potter would be so difficult, he is so well protected —"**

"**And so you volunteer to go and fetch me a substitute? I wonder… perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you, Wormtail? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more than an attempt to desert me?"**

"**My Lord! I — I have no wish to leave you, none at all —"**

"Idiot." Gabriel mouthed it along with a few others but that was as close to talking as they would get.

"**Do not lie to me!" hissed the second voice. "I can always tell, Wormtail! You are regretting that you ever returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look at me, feel you shudder when you touch me…"**

"**No! My devotion to Your Lordship —"**

Harry's eyes turned to a dark grey but that was the only sign of his anger

"**Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go. How am I to survive without you, when I need feeding every few hours? Who is to milk Nagini?"**

Harry smiled sardonically and Lucifer grinned at him.

"**But you seem so much stronger, My Lord —"**

"**Liar," breathed the second voice. "I am no stronger, and a few days alone would be enough to rob me of the little health I have regained under your clumsy care. Silence!"**

Harry even felt like silently cheering on the lunatic.

**Wormtail, who had been sputtering incoherently, fell silent at once. For a few seconds, Frank could hear nothing but the fire crackling. Then the second man spoke once more, in a whisper that was almost a hiss.**

"**I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other.**

_Your ignorance Tom. _Dumbledore.

**I have waited thirteen years. A few more months will make no difference. As for the protection surrounding the boy, I believe my plan will be effective. All that is needed is a little courage from you, Wormtail — courage you will find, unless you wish to feel the full extent of Lord Voldermort's wrath —"**

A few winced while the angels held back snorts.

"**My Lord, I must speak!" said Wormtail, panic in his voice now. "All through our journey I have gone over the plan in my head — My Lord, Bertha Jorkin's** **disappearance will not go unnoticed for long, and if we proceed, if I murder —"**

Amelia finally broke the silence with a sobbing gasp and flung a hand over her mouth.

"**If?" whispered the second voice." If? If you follow the plan, Wormtail, the Ministry need never know that anyone else has died. You will do it quietly and without fuss; I only wish that I could do it myself, but in my present condition… Come, Wormtail, one more death and our path to Harry Potter is clear. I am not asking you to do it alone. By that time, my faithful servant will have rejoined us —"**

"**I am a faithful servant," said Wormtail, the merest trace of sullenness in his voice.**

People gritted their teeth but refused to let a sound slip through.

"**Wormtail, I need somebody with brains, somebody whose loyalty has never wavered, and you, unfortunately, fulfil neither requirement."**

Harry now smirked, true he hated Riddle, no saying otherwise but he was glad the rat got a dressing down.

"**I found you," said Wormtail, and there was definitely a sulky edge to his voice now. "I was the one who found you. I brought you Bertha Jorkins."**

"**That is true," said the second man, sounding amused. "A stroke of brilliance I would not have thought possible from you, Wormtail — though, if truth be told, you were not aware how useful she would be when you caught her, were you?"**

"**I — I thought she might be useful, My Lord —"**

Gabriel clutched her head at human and rat stupidity.

"**Liar," said the second voice again, the cruel amusement more pronounced than ever. "However, I do not deny that her information was invaluable. Without it, I could never have formed our plan, and for that, you will have your reward, Wormtail. I will allow you to perform an essential task for me, one that many of my followers would give their right hands to perform…"**

Harry's had was over his mouth and he nearly retched.

"**R-really, My Lord? What —?" Wormtail sounded terrified again.**

"**Ah, Wormtail, you don't want me to spoil the surprise? Your part will come at the very end… but I promise you, you will have the honour of being just as useful as Bertha Jorkins."**

"**You… you…" Wormtail's voice suddenly sounded hoarse, as though his mouth had gone very dry. "You… are going… to kill me too?"**

_If only. _Sirius and Remus looked at each other and they gave sad smiles.

"**Wormtail, Wormtail," said the cold voice silkily, "why would I kill you? I killed Bertha because I had to. She was fit for nothing after my questioning, quite useless. In any case, awkward questions would have been asked if she had gone back to the Ministry with the news that she had met you on her holidays. Wizards who are supposed to be dead would do well not to run into Ministry of Magic witches at wayside inns…"**

A few smirked at that but only for a second.

**Wormtail muttered something so quietly that Frank could not hear it, but it made the second man laugh — an entirely mirthless laugh, cold as his speech.**

"**We could have modified her memory? But Memory Charms can be broken by a powerful wizard, as I proved when I questioned her. It would be an insult to her memory not to use the information I extracted from her, Wormtail."**

Eyes all around the room darkened but the silence that hung like a guillotine was not broken and would not be.

**Out in the corridor, Frank suddenly became aware that the hand gripping his walking stick was slippery with sweat. The man with the cold voice had killed a woman. He was talking about it without any kind of remorse — with amusement. He was dangerous — a madman. And he was planning more murders — this boy, Harry Potter, whoever he was — was in danger — Frank knew what he must do. **

A small, sad smile creped over Harry's lips as he remembered the man from the graveyard.

**Now, if ever, was the time to go to the police.**

**He would creep out of the house and head straight for the telephone box in the village… but the cold voice was speaking again, and Frank remained where he was, frozen to the spot, listening with all his might.**

"**One more murder… my faithful servant at Hogwarts… Harry Potter is as good as mine,**

Theo repressed a territorial growl and pulled Harry even closer.

**Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument. But quiet… I think I hear Nagini…"**

**And the second man's voice changed. He started making noises such as Frank had never heard before; he was hissing and spitting without drawing breath. **

Harry rose a eyebrow, so that's what it sounded like.

**Frank thought he must be having some sort of fit or seizure.**

**And then Frank heard movement behind him in the dark passageway. He turned to look, and found himself paralyzed with fright. Something was slithering toward him along the dark corridor floor, and as it drew nearer to the sliver of firelight, he realized with a thrill of terror that it was a gigantic snake, at least twelve feet long.**

"Anaconda." Harry mouthed this to Hermione's sicked and curious look.

**Horrified, transfixed, Frank stared as its undulating body cut a wide, curving track through the thick dust on the floor, coming closer and closer — What was he to do? The only means of escape was into the room where the two men sat plotting murder, yet if he stayed where he was the snake would surely kill him —**

_Your lucky enough it was the killing curse. _Harry thought.

**But before he had made his decision, the snake was level with him, and then, incredibly, miraculously, it was passing; it was following the spitting, hissing noises made by the cold voice beyond the door, and in seconds, the tip of its diamond-patterned tail had vanished through the gap.**

"Run." Hannah mouthed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

**There was sweat on Frank's forehead now, and the hand on the walking stick was trembling. Inside the room, the cold voice was continuing to hiss, and Frank was visited by a strange idea, an impossible idea… This man could talk to snakes. **

People nodded and the Ravens gave sad smiles.

**Frank didn't understand what was going on. He wanted more than anything to be back in his bed with his hot-water bottle. The problem was that his legs didn't seem to want to move. As he stood there shaking and trying to master himself, the cold voice switched abruptly to English again.**

"**Nagini has interesting news, Wormtail," it said.**

Hands were clamped over mouths to stop the cries for what was to come.

"**In-indeed, My Lord?" said Wormtail.**

"**Indeed, yes," said the voice, "According to Nagini, there is an old Muggle standing right outside this room, listening to every word we say."**

A few know pressed pillow to their faces.

**Frank didn't have a chance to hide himself. There were footsteps and then the door of the room was flung wide open.**

**A short, balding man with graying hair, a pointed nose, and small, watery eyes stood before Frank, a mixture of fear and alarm in his face.**

Harry wanted to scream so badly but held back in respect.

"**Invite him inside, Wormtail. Where are your manners?" The cold voice was coming from the ancient armchair before the fire, but Frank couldn't see the speaker. The snake, on the other hand, was curled up on the rotting hearth rug, like some horrible travesty of a pet dog.**

Lips twitched slightlyt but no real humour was left in the room.

**Wormtail beckoned Frank into the room. Though still deeply shaken, Frank took a firmer grip on his walking stick and limped over the threshold.**

**The fire was the only source of light in the room; it cast long, spidery shadows upon the walls. Frank stared at the back of the armchair; the man inside it seemed to be even smaller than his servant, for Frank couldn't even see the back of his head.**

This time the young Potter wanted to scream for a very different reason as he remembered the sight of Voldemorts former vessel.

"**You heard everything, Muggle?" said the cold voice.**

"**What's that you're calling me?" said Frank defiantly, for now that he was inside the room, now that the time had come for some sort of action, he felt braver; it had always been so in the war.**

"Gryffidor." Most of that house mouthed and they seemed to be in mourning for someone they could see as their own.

"**I am calling you a Muggle," said the voice coolly. "It means that you are not a wizard."**

"**I don't know what you mean by wizard," said Frank, his voice growing steadier. "All I know is I've heard enough to interest the police tonight, I have. You've done murder and you're planning more! And I'll tell you this too," he added, on a sudden inspiration, "my wife knows I'm up here, and if I don't come back —"**

People closed their eyes knowing that if that was true she would be dead as well.

"**You have no wife," said the cold voice, very quietly. "Nobody knows you are here. You told nobody that you were coming. Do not lie to Lord Voldemort, Muggle, for he knows… he always knows…"**

"**Is that right?" said Frank roughly. "Lord, is it? Well, I don't think much of your manners, My Lord. Turn 'round and face me like a man, why don't you?"**

The Griffins held onto their friends hands to keep quiet but tears were quickly being shed and even Pomona was need to comfort Minerva.

"**But I am not a man, Muggle," said the cold voice, barely audible now over the crackling of the flames. "I am much, much more than a man.**

Harry shook his head, his face marred by tears just like his house mates.

**However… why not? I will face you… Wormtail, come turn my chair around."**

**The servant gave a whimper.**

"**You heard me, Wormtail."**

**Slowly, with his face screwed up, as though he would rather have done anything than approach his master and the hearth rug where the snake lay, the small man walked forward and began to turn the chair. The snake lifted its ugly triangular head and hissed slightly as the legs of the chair snagged on its rug.**

People looked for what comfort they could and all the students felt sick.

**And then the chair was facing Frank, and he saw what was sitting in it. His walking stick fell to the floor with a clatter. He opened his mouth and let out a scream.**

People trembled and felt sad that no one would remember the poor muggle and knew they wouldn't forget.

**He was screaming so loudly that he never heard the words the thing in the chair spoke as it raised a wand. There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound, and Frank Bryce crumpled. He was dead before he hit the floor.**

Not one sound was in the hall as the headmistress paused and her voice was a whisper on the last words

**Two hundred miles away, the boy called Harry Potter woke with a start.**

The Griffins stood from where they had been and each one walked out of the hall to their common room, curling into groups in untied grief until they made the silent decision to return.

* * *

**And on that happy note MERRY CHRISTMAS!**


	2. The Scar

Fred took the book from Olympia with a smile before sitting down to read.

**CHAPTER TWO: THE SCAR **Harry glared at all those who looked his way.

**Harry lay flat on his back, breathing hard as though he had just been running. He had awoken from a vivid dream with his hands pressed over his face.**

**The old scar on his forehead, which was shaped like a bolt of lightning, **

Yet another glare but his eyes were a deep storm grey. Snape couldn't tell if that or the Hazel was worse.

**was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a white-hot wire to his skin.**

Theo physically flinched at that and Harry didn't seem bothered but he could see it in his boyfriends eyes, the repressed pain.

**He sat up, one hand still on his scar, the other reaching out in the darkness for his glasses, which were on the bedside table. He put them on and his bedroom came into clearer focus, lit by a faint, misty orange light that was filtering through the curtains from the street lamp outside the window. **

"Your up far to early." Poppy tutted.

"Couldn't really help it." Harry drawled revealing his inner Malfoy.

**Harry ran his fingers over the scar again. It was still painful. **

**He turned on the lamp beside him, scrambled out of bed, crossed the room, opened his wardrobe and peered into the mirror on the inside of the door. **

**A skinny boy of fourteen looked back at him, his bright green eyes puzzled under his untidy black hair.**

Harry shivered as he felt Theo's eyes roam his body.

**He examined the lightning-bolt scar of his reflection more closely. It looked normal, but it was still stinging.**

"As normal as a lightning shaped scar can be." Charlie chuckled and people grinned or laughed.

**Harry tried to recall what he had been dreaming about before he had awoken. It had seemed so real ... there had been two people he knew, and one he didn't ... he concentrated hard, frowning, trying to remember...**

"I hate that about dreams sometimes." Susan grumbled to much agreement.

**The dim picture of a darkened room came to him ... there had been a snake on the hearth-rug ... and a cold, high voice ... the voice of Lord Voldemort.**

Most of the hall shivered though not at the name.

**Harry felt as though an ice cube had slipped down into his stomach at the very thought... **

"Uuuggghhh." Justin's head hit the tale and his friends snickered, remembering a rather harsh prank.

**He closed his eyes tightly and tried to remember what Voldemort had looked like, but it was impossible... **

"And for that I'm glad." Harry had gone _very _pale.

**All Harry knew was that at the moment when Voldemort's chair had swung around, and he, Harry, had seen what was sitting in it, he had felt a spasm of horror which had awoken him ... or had it been the pain in his scar?**

"It'll be the horror." Gabriel informed.

**And who had the old man been? For there had definitely been an old man; Harry had watched him fall to the ground. **

**It was all becoming confusing; Harry put his face into his hands, blocking out his bedroom, trying to hold on to the picture of the dimly lit room, but it was like trying to keep water in his cupped hands; the details were now trickling away as fast as he tried to hold on to them...**

"You make up very good metaphors." Minerva mused.

**Voldemort and Wormtail had been talking about someone they had killed, though Harry could not remember the name ... they had plotting to kill someone else ... **_**him**_**...**

"Doesn't he do that ever year." Ron groaned, leaning back in his seat as the rest of the trio nodded grimly.

**Harry took his face out of his hands, opened his eyes and stared around his bedroom as though expecting to see something unusual there.**

**As it happened, there were an extraordinary number of unusual things in this room. **

People leaned forward by about an inch.

**A large wooden trunk stood open at the foot of his bed, revealing a cauldron, broomstick, black robes and assorted spellbooks. Rolls of parchment littered that part of his desk that was not taken up by the large cage in which his snowy owl, Hedwig, usually perched.**

"Usually?" Luna tipped her head.

"It should be in here."

**On the floor beside his bed a book lay open; he had been reading it before he fell asleep the previous night. **

**The pictures in the book were all moving. Men in bright orange robes were zooming in and out of sight on broomsticks, throwing a red ball to each other.**

"The Cannons." People said with disgust much to a few's displeasure.

"Gabe." But Harry was cut off.

"Glasgow Knights. Let me guess Puddlemere United?" Harry nodded firmly while the rest of the originals cheered loudly.

**Harry walked over to this book, picked it up and watched one of the wizards score a spectacular goal by putting the ball through a fifty-foot-high hoop. Then he snapped the book shut. Even Quidditch - in Harry's opinion, the best sport in the world**

The non-Quidditch fans shook their heads at the others.

**- couldn't distract him at the moment. **

**He placed **_**Flying with the Cannons**_

"Ron!" The twins whined, yes whined.

**on his bedside table, crossed to the window and drew back the curtains to survey the street below. **

**Privet Drive looked exactly as a respectable suburban street would be expected to look in the early hours of Saturday morning. All the curtains were closed. As far as Harry could see through the darkness, there wasn't a living creature in sight, not even a cat.**

"And all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." Hannah snickered quietly getting a round of laughs.

**And yet ... and yet ... Harry went restlessly back to his bed and sat down on it, running a finger over his scar again. It wasn't the pain that bothered him; Harry was no stranger to pain and injury. **

People made faces.

**He had lost all the bones from his right arm once, and had them painfully re-grown at night. **

Winced

**The same arm had been pierced by a venomous foot-long fang not long afterwards.**

Cue violent flinches.

**Only last year Harry had fallen fifty feet from an airborne broomstick. **

And pained hisses. Such charming thoughts.

**He was used to bizarre accidents and injuries; they were unavoidable if you attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry **

"No it's not." Way over half the hall yelled making the reader snicker.

**and had a knack for attracting a lot of trouble.**

The hall heated up by a few degrees as the blood rushed to people's faces.

**No, the thing that was bothering Harry was that the last time his scar had hurt him, it had been because Voldemort had been close by...**

**But Voldemort couldn't be here, now ... The idea of Voldemort lurking in Privet Drive was absurd, impossible... **

"Don't get comfortable Laddie, expect anything." Moody lectured.

**Harry listened closely to the silence around him. Was he half expecting to hear the creak of a stair, or the swish of a cloak? And then he jumped slightly as he heard his cousin Dudley give a tremendous grunting snore from the next room.**

Kingsley and Amelia nodded firmly and Harry sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

**Harry shook himself mentally; he was being stupid; **

"No your being cautious. Nothing wrong with that." Remus smiled and the ravenette smiled his way.

**there was no one in the house with him except Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley, and they were plainly still asleep, their dreams untroubled and painless. **

"Shame." Lucifer sighed and Michael smirked.

"Not for long." He said sing-song and Raphael gave an intoxicating laugh.

"They've been spending to long with me." And the youngest of the four shook her head, honey curls bouncing.

**Asleep was the way Harry liked the Dursleys best; it wasn't as though they were ever any help to him awake. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley were Harry's only living relatives. **

**They were Muggles (non-magic people) who hated and despised magic in any form, which meant that Harry was about as welcome in their house as dry rot.**

Arthur, Molly's and a few others eyes glowed with anger at that but the twin thankfully kept reading.

**They had explained Harry's long absences at Hogwarts over the last three years by telling everyone that he went to St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys.**

Ah, The Dursleys don't know what hit them.

**They knew perfectly well that, as an underage wizard, Harry wasn't allowed to use magic outside Hogwarts, but were still apt to blame him for anything that went wrong in the house.**

**Harry had never been able to confide in them, or tell them anything about his life in the wizarding world.**

"I can't believe you were left with them." Hannah growled.

"Don't worry, I know wizarding law like the back of my hand, so far their on 18 years." Susan told her.

**The very idea of going to them when they awoke, and telling them about his scar hurting him, and his worries about Voldemort, was laughable.**

**And yet it was because of Voldemort that Harry had to come to live with the Dursleys in the first place. **

**If it hadn't been for Voldemort, Harry would not have the lightning scar on his forehead. **

**If it hadn't been for Voldemort, Harry would still have parents...**

The entire room flinched but didn't react other wise.

**Harry had been a year old the night that Voldemort ****the most powerful Dark Wizard for a century, a wizard who had been gaining power steadily for eleven years –**

"Far longer than that." Dumbledore said softly.

**arrived at his house and killed his father and mother.**

Harry twisted his hands in his lap while Fleur wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders.

**Voldemort had then turned his wand on Harry; he had performed the curse that had disposed of many full-grown witches and wizards in his steady rise to power ****and, incredibly, it had not worked.**

"Wait, that was you." He looked at the archangels. "One of you used old magic to protect me."

"Yeah it was Lucifer, I'd already fallen protecting you." Gabriel explained.

"Michael had fallen because he got to close to his charge." Harry nodded at the redhead.

"And Raphael was the only archangel left with a place in heaven, if he fell everything would be in chaos." Lucifer finished.

**Instead of killing the small boy, the curse had rebounded upon Voldemort. **

**Harry had survived with nothing but a lightning-shaped cut on his forehead,**

That glare was going up a level every time it was used.

**and Voldemort had been reduced to something barely alive. **

**His powers gone, his life almost extinguished, Voldemort had fled;**

"Shame that didn't kill him." Michael Corner said bitterly.

**the terror in which the secret community of witches and wizards had lived for so long had lifted, Voldemort's followers had disbanded, and Harry Potter had become famous.**

"Much to his annoyance." Fred chuckled.

**It had been enough of a shock for Harry to discover, on his eleventh birthday, that he was a wizard; ****it had been even more disconcerting to find out that everyone in the hidden wizarding world knew his name. Harry had arrived at Hogwarts to find that heads turned and whispers followed him wherever he went.**

"And how much he hates it." Draco sniggered.

**But he was used to it now: At the end of this summer, he would be starting his fourth year at Hogwarts; and he was already counting the days until he would be back at the castle again.**

"Ah, home." He sighed longingly, a grin on his face.

**But there was still a fortnight to go before he went back to school. He looked hopelessly around his room again, and his eye paused on the birthday cards his two best friends had sent him at the end of July. What would they say if he wrote to them and told them about his scar burning?**

****"You already know that." Astoria muttered, shaking her head.

**At once, Hermione Granger's voice filled his head, shrill and panicky.**

"Right." Most people chorused

_**"Your scar hurt? Harry, that's really serious ... Write to Professor Dumbledore! And I'll go and check**_ **Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions ... **_**Maybe there's something in there about curse scars...**_**" **

**Yes, that would be Hermione's advice: Go straight to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and in the meantime, consult a book.**

The entire student body was snickering into their hands.

**Harry stared out of the window at the inky, blue-black sky. He doubted very much whether a book could help him now. As far as he knew, he was the only living person to have survived a ****curse like Voldemort's; it was highly unlikely, therefore, that he would find his symptoms listed in **_**Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions**_**.**

"It won't be." Madam Pomfrey sighed.

**As for informing that Headmaster, Harry had no idea where Dumbledore went during the summer holidays.**

**He amused himself for a moment, picturing Dumbledore, with his long silver beard, full-length wizard's robes and pointed hat, stretched out on a beach somewhere, rubbing suntan lotion into his long crooked nose.**

Chocked noises were heard before the laughter spilt out.

**Wherever Dumbledore was, though, Harry was sure that Hedwig would be able to find him; Harry's owl had never failed to deliver a letter to anyone, even without an address. **

**But what would he write?**

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore.**_

_**Sorry to bother you, but my scar hurt this morning. **_

_**Yours sincerely, Harry Potter.**_

**Even inside his head the words sounded stupid.**

"Shut up Gabriel."

"Don't push it Potter."

"You wouldn't hurt me."

"No just give you to Lucifer."

_"Gulp."_

**And so he tried again to imagine his other best friend, Ron Weasley's, reaction, and in a moment, Ron's long-nosed, freckled face seemed to swim before Harry,**

"Bloody perfect thanks mate."

**wearing a bemused expression. **

**"**_**Your scar hurt? But ... You-Know-Who can't be near you now, can he? I mean ... you'd know, wouldn't you? He'd be trying to do you in again, wouldn't he? I dunno, Harry, maybe curse scars always twinge a bit ... I'll ask Dad..."**_

"Okay, he knows us to well."

**Mr Weasley was a fully qualified wizard who worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, ****but he didn't have any particular expertise in the matter of curses, as far as Harry knew.**

"None." He admitted. **  
**

**In any case, Harry didn't like the idea of the whole Weasley family knowing that he, Harry, was getting jumpy about a few moments' pain. **

**Mrs Weasley would fuss worse then Hermione, **

"So true." Every Weasley admitted.

**and Fred and George, Ron's sixteen-year-old twin brothers, might think Harry was losing his nerve. **

In less than a second Harry was running out the door the twins hot on his heels.

"I'll read instead." Charlie took the book from where Fred had dropped it.

**The Weasleys were Harry's favourite family in the world; he was hoping they might invite him to stay any time now (Ron mentioned something about the Quidditch World Cup), ****and he somehow didn't want his visit punctuated with anxious enquiries about his scar.**

****"Harry!" They all sighed.

"You do remember 'e is not 'ere?" Fleur smirked.

**Harry kneaded his forehead with his knuckles. What he really wanted (and he felt almost shameful to admit it to himself) was someone like - someone like a **_**parent,**_

"He really needs a lesson in this stuff." Bill mumbled and the others nodded firmly.

**an adult whose advise he could ask without feeling stupid, someone who cared about him, who had had experience of Dark Magic...**

**And then the solution came to him. It was so simple and so obvious that he couldn't believe it had taken him so long - **_**Sirius**_**.**

"It's not surprising pup." He grinned to himself.

**Harry leapt up from the bed, hurried across the room and sat down at his desk; he pulled a piece of parchment towards him, loaded his eagle-feather quill with ink, wrote **_**Dear Sirius**_**, then paused wondering how best to phrase his problem, and still marveling at the fact that he hadn't thought of Sirius straight away.**

**But then, perhaps it wasn't so surprising - after all, he had only found out that Sirius was his Godfather two months ago.**

****People glared at the minister who shrunk into himself, the Griffins shouting Coward and Idiot without a care. The toad swelled up only for Amelia to step in.

"One word Delores and I'll make sure I find something on you."

**There was a simple reason for Sirius' complete absence from Harry's life until then ****Sirius had been in Azkaban, ****the terrifying wizard jail guarded by creatures called Dementors, sightless, soul-sucking fiends who had come to search for Sirius at Hogwarts when he had escaped.**

Hissing filled the hall, echoing from the high walls.

**Yet Sirius had been innocent **

Fudge winced as the intensity went up and the lions got more aggressive and defensive.

**the murder for which he had been convicted had been committed by Wormtail, **

****"Traitor." The sound of that was deafening in the intensity, not volume and people realized to never cross a Gryffindor.

**Voldemort's supporter, whom nearly everybody now believed dead.**

**Harry, Ron and Hermione knew otherwise, however; they had come face to face with Wormtail the previous year, though only Professor Dumbledore had believed their story.**

"Because Fudge is a moron and Snape is a biased bastard." Some called but their voice was disguised and no student would give them up. Well Parkinson would if she didn't know her neck was on the line.

**For one glorious hour, Harry had believed that he was leaving the Dursleys at last, because Sirius had offered him a home once his name had been cleared.**

People smiled at the thought.

**But the chance was snatched away from him - Wormtail had escaped before they could take him to the Ministry of Magic, ****and Sirius had had to flee for his life. Harry had helped him escape on the back of a Hippogriff called Buckbeak, and since then, Sirius had been on the run.**

"It was kind of nice after being locked up for so long." He mused.

**The home Harry might have had if Wormtail had not escaped had been haunting him all summer. It had been doubly hard returning to the Dursleys knowing that he had so nearly escaped them for ever.**

**Nevertheless, Sirius had been of some help to Harry, even if he couldn't be with him.**

"And for that we're all glad." Remus smiled.

**It was due to Sirius that Harry now had all his school things in his bedroom with him. **

**The Dursleys had never allowed this before; their general wish of keeping Harry as miserable as possible,**

"Greyback. Will you and the others go and get me a news paper, you know the one." The Lycan licked her cheek before running away.

**coupled with their fear of his powers, had led them to lock his school trunk in the cupboard under the stairs every summer prior to this. **

**But their attitude had changed since they found out that Harry had a dangerous murderer for a godfather - Harry had conveniently forgotten to tell them that Sirius was innocent.**

The lions and snakes were matched on volume as they cheered.

**Harry had received two letters from Sirius since he had been back at Privet Drive. Both had been delivered, not by owls ****(as was usual with wizards) but by large, brightly coloured, tropical birds.**

****"Of course Black." McGonagall rolled her eyes in amusement at the Marauder, she'd always had a soft spot for them.

**Hedwig had not approved of these flashy intruders; she had been most reluctant to allow them to drink from her water tray before flying off again.**

**Harry, on the other hand, had liked them; they put him in mind of palm trees and white sands, and he hoped that wherever Sirius was (Sirius never said, in case the letters were intercepted) ****he was enjoying himself.**

"Were you?" Harry and the twins appeared, one (George) giving Harry a piggy back as he looked a little out of breath. "Tickle Torture."

"Yes I was, no one knew who I was and If they did I just acted as a lovable stray."

"They must have been gullible." Remus snorted.

**Somehow, Harry found it hard to imagine Dementors surviving for long in bright sunlight; perhaps that was why Sirius had gone south. **

"Yes. The Blacks had a lot of places in europe."

**Sirius' letters, which were now hidden beneath the highly useful loose floorboard ****under Harry's bed, sounded cheerful, and in both of them he had reminded Harry to call on him if ever Harry needed to. Well, he needed to now, all right...**

George shifted Harry to his lap and the ravenette yawned, burrowing his head into the beaters muscular shoulder.

**Harry's lamp seemed to grow dimmer as the cold grey light that preceded sunrise slowly crept into the room. Finally, when the sun had risen, when his bedroom walls had turned gold and the sounds of movement could be heard from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's room, Harry cleared his desk of crumpled pieces of parchment, and re-read his finished letter.**

_**Dear Sirius,**_

"Good start." Theo chuckled

_**Thanks for your last letter, that bird was enormous, it could hardly get through my window.**_

"You can tell it's Sirius." Narcissa smirked

_**Things are the same as usual here. Dudley's diet isn't going too well. My aunt found him **__**smuggling doughnuts into his room yesterday. They told him they'd have to cut his pocket money if he keeps doing it, so he got really angry and chucked his PlayStation out of the window. **_

_**That's a sort of computer thing you can play games on.**_

"Did you understand?" Hermione asked and Sirius nodded much to her surprise.

_**Bit stupid really, now he hasn't even got**_ **Mega-Mutilation Part Three **_**to take his mind off things.**_

_**I'm OK, mainly because the Durselys are terrified you might turn up and turn them all into bats if I ask you to.**_

Dean and Seamus whooped.

_**A weird thing happened this morning, though. My scar hurt again. Last time that happened it was because Voldemort was at Hogwarts. But I don't reckon he can be here now, can he? Do you know if curse scars sometimes hurt years afterwards?**_

_**I'll send this with Hedwig when she gets back, she's off hunting at the moment. Say hello to Buckbeak for me.**_

"Only you." Daphne smirked.

_**Harry**_

**Yes, thought Harry, that looked all right. **

**There was no point putting in the dream, he didn't want it to look as though he was too worried.**

George dug him in the ribs, getting a cute yelp of surprise from his little brother.

**He folded the parchment up and laid it aside on his desk, ready for when Hedwig returned. Then he got to his feet, stretched and opened his wardrobe once more. Without glancing at his reflection, he started to get dressed before going down to breakfast.**

"And that is that." Charlie said in a pompous tone. "Here my dear brother."

"Git." Percy hissed snatching the book away.


	3. The Invitation

**CHAPTER THREE - ****THE INVITATION **Percy started making all the Weasley's and Harry show some signs of happiness, unless you were Ginny who who had been pouting for about, well since the end of the first book really.

**By the time Harry arrived in the kitchen, the three Dursleys were already seated around the table. None of them looked up as he entered or sat down.**

**Uncle Vernon's large red face was hidden behind the morning's Daily Mail and Aunt Petunia was cutting a grapefruit into quarters, her lips pursed over her horse-like teeth.**

Regardless of how often they heard that it still got a snigger.

**Dudley looked furious and sulky, and somehow seemed to be taking up even more space than usual.**

**This was saying something, as he always took up an entire side of the square table by himself.**

Madam Pomfrey had never been more horrified.

**When Aunt Petunia put a quarter of unsweetened grapefruit onto Dudley's plate with a tremulous "There you are, Diddy darling,"**

**Dudley glowered at her. **

"Brat."

"Right, like you can talk."

"And here I thought angels were suppose to be good."

"Because Humans are gullible." Lucifer smirked with a dark look in his eyes that sent shivers through the red head.

**His life had taken a most unpleasant turn since he had come home for the summer with his end-of-year report.**

"Good." The Lions really could roar as people rubbed their ears.

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had managed to find excuses for his bad marks as usual; Aunt Petunia always insisted that Dudley was a very gifted boy whose teachers didn't understand him;**

"Yes I'm sure." Dean snickered

**while Uncle Vernon maintained that "he didn't want some swotty little nancy boy for a son anyway".**

"Doing well in school isn't a bad thing." Hermione seethed.

**They also skated over the accusations of bullying in the report - "He's a boisterous little boy, but he wouldn't hurt a fly!" said Aunt Petunia tearfully.**

Harry laughed bitterly from his place in one twins lap with his feet in the other's.

**However, at the bottom of the report there were a few well chosen comments from the school nurse which not even Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia could explain away. No matter how much Aunt Petunia wailed that Dudley was big-boned, and that his poundage was really puppy-fat,**

"No because then he'd look like a cherub." Michael smiled.

"He will never look like us." Gabriel cried indignantly.

**and that he was a growing boy who needed plenty of food, the fact remained that the school outfitters didn't stock knickerbockers big enough for him anymore.**

All of Hogwarts was on the floor. EVEN SNAPE SMILED!

**The school nurse had seen what Aunt Petunia's eyes - so sharp when it came to spotting fingerprints on her gleaming walls, and in observing the comings and goings of the neighbours ****simply refused to see: that, far from needing extra nourishment, Dudley had reached roughly the size and weight of a young killer whale.**

"Ah, humans." Lucifer said in a condescending tone that both the angels, Harry and a few other laughed at.

**So - after many tantrums, after arguments that shook Harry's bedroom floor, and many tears from Aunt Petunia - the new regime had begun.**

"Thank you." Madam Pomfrey sighed.

**The diet sheet that had been sent by the Smeltings school nurse had been taped to the fridge, which had been emptied of all Dudley's favourite things - fizzy drinks and cakes, chocolate bars and burgers - and filled instead with fruit and vegetables and the sorts of things that Uncle Vernon called "rabbit food".**

A few pulled faces but said nothing in fear of the wrath that Poppy.

**To make Dudley feel better about it all, Aunt Petunia had insisted that the whole family follow the diet too. She now passed a grapefruit quarter to Harry. He noticed that it was a lot smaller than Dudley's.**

George's grip tightened slightly as other fists clenched.

**Aunt Petunia seemed to feel that the best way to keep up Dudley's morale was to make sure that he did, at least, get more to eat than Harry.**

"That women." People shrunk away from the Weasley women.

**But Aunt Petunia didn't know what was hidden under the loose floorboard upstairs.**

**She had no idea that Harry wasn't following the diet at all. **

Calls of 'Go Harry!' and the like echoed from the ceiling.

**The moment he had got wind of the fact that he was expected to survive the summer on carrot sticks, Harry had sent Hedwig to his friends with pleas for help, and they had risen to the occasion magnificently.**

**Hedwig had returned from Hermione's house with a large box stuffed full of sugar-free snacks (Hermione's parents were dentists).**

"Uuuuck."

"Actually they were pretty good."

**Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, had obliged with a sack full of his own home-made rock cakes (Harry hadn't touched these; he had had too much experience of Hagrid's cooking).**

The large man chuckled merrily.

**Mrs Weasley, however, had sent the family owl, Errol, with an enormous fruitcake and assorted pasties. Poor Errol, who was elderly and feeble, had needed a full five days to recover from the journey.**

"Poor thing." Luna sighed.

**And then on Harry's birthday (which the Dursleys had completely ignored) ****he had had received four superb birthday cakes, one each from Ron, Hermione, Hagrid and Sirius.**

**Harry still had two of them left, and so, looking forward to a real breakfast when he got back upstairs, he started eating his grapefruit without complaint.**

"I wouldn't call it a real breakfast but at least your eating." Poppy huffed.

**Uncle Vernon laid aside his paper with a deep sniff of disapproval and looked down at his own grapefruit quarter.**

**"Is this it?" he said grumpily to Aunt Petunia.**

**Aunt Petunia gave him a very severe look, and then nodded pointedly at Dudley, who had already finished his own grapefruit quarter, and was eyeing Harry's with a very sour look in his little piggy eyes.**

The twins eyes narrowed on the book and all the way at smelting, in the middle of class, Dudley Dursley jumped and whimpered.

**Uncle Vernon gave a great sigh with ruffled his large, butchy moustache, and picked up his spoon.**

**The doorbell rang. Uncle Vernon heaved himself out of his chair and set off down the hall.**

**Quick as a flash, while his mother was occupied with the kettle, Dudley stole the rest of Uncle Vernon's grapefruit.**

The hall gave a viscous grin.

**Harry heard talking at the door, and someone laughing, and Uncle Vernon answering curtly. Then the front door closed, and the sound of ripping paper came from the hall.**

**Aunt Petunia set the teapot down on the table and looked curiously around to see where Uncle Vernon had got to. She didn't have to wait long to find out; after about a minute, he was back. He looked livid.**

"Oh good."

**"You," he barked at Harry. "In the living room. Now."**

**Bewildered, wondering what on earth he was supposed to have done this time, Harry got up and followed Uncle Vernon out of the kitchen and into the next room. Uncle Vernon closed the door sharply behind both of them.**

The hall shook and all eyes snapped to the archangels.

"Not us!" They cried. Harry watched as Gabriel's eyes clouded over in dark thought.

**"So," he said, marching over to the fireplace and turning to face Harry as though he was going to pronounce him under arrest. "So."**

**Harry would have dearly loved to have said "So what?", but he didn't feel that Uncle Vernon's temper should be tested this early in the morning, especially when it was already under severe strain from lack of food.**

"Oh but Harry." Seamus whined.

**He therefore settled for looking politely puzzled.**

**"This just arrived," said Uncle Vernon. He brandished a piece of purple writing paper at Harry. "A letter. About you."**

Eyebrows went up.

**Harry's confusion increased. Who would be writing to Uncle Vernon about him? Who did he know who sent letters by the postman?**

**Uncle Vernon glared at Harry, then looked down at the letter, and began to read aloud;**

"That must have taken a long time." Draco smirked.

_**Dear Mr and Mrs Dursley,**_

_**We have never been introduced, but I am sure you have heard a great deal from Harry about my son Ron.**_

"I didn't know you used muggle post." Hermione said confused.

_**As Harry might have told you, the final of the Quidditch World Cup**_

_**takes place next Monday night, and my husband, Arthur, has managed to get prime tickets through his connections at the Department of Magical Games and Sports.**_

_**I do hope you will allow us to take Harry to the match,**_

"Normally no but Harry has something against them." Andromeda grinned and high-fived her cousin.

_**as this really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; Britain hasn't hosted the Cup for thirty years and tickets are extremely hard to come by. We would of course be glad to have Harry to stay for the remainder of the summer holidays, and to see him safely onto the train back to school.**_

_**It would be best for Harry to send us your answer as quickly as possible in the normal way, because the Muggle postman has never delivered to our house, and I'm not sure he even knows where it is.**_

_**Hoping to see Harry soon,**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Molly Weasley**_

_**P.S. I do hope we've put enough stamps on.**_

Harry went into a giggle fit and the only thing keeping him up was George.

**Uncle Vernon finished reading, put his hand back into his breast pocket and drew out something else.**

**"Look at this," he growled.**

**He held up the envelope in which Mrs Weasley's letter had come, and Harry had to fight down a laugh.**

He had no such worries now.

**Every bit of it was covered in stamps except for a square inch on the front, into which Mrs Weasley had squeezed the Dursleys' address in minute writing.**

All who knew collapsed into laughter.

"You only need one Mrs Weasley." Hermione giggled behind her hand.

**"She did put enough stamps on, then," said Harry, trying to sound as though Mrs Weasley's was a mistake anyone could make.**

**His uncle's eyes flashed.**

**"The postman noticed," he said through gritted teeth.**

"Really, what a surprise." Justin chuckled.

**"Very interested to know where this letter came from, he was. That's why he rang the doorbell. Seemed to think it was funny."**

"Because it is." Colin laughed.

**Harry didn't say anything. Other people might not understand why Uncle Vernon was making a fuss about too many stamps, but Harry had lived with the Dursleys too long not to know how touchy they were about anything even slightly out of the ordinary.**

"So they must hate themselves." Percy stated.

**Their worst fear was that anyone would find out that they were connected (however distantly) with people like Mrs Weasley.**

**Uncle Vernon was still glaring at Harry, who tried to keep his expression neutral.**

**If he didn't do or say anything stupid, he might just be in for the treat of a lifetime. **

"Just like your dad." Sirius and Remus chorused.

"That's creepy." Neville said plainly.

**He waited for Uncle Vernon to say something, but he merely continued to glare. Harry decided to break the silence.**

**"So - can I go, then?" he asked.**

**A slight spasm crossed Uncle Vernon's large, purple face. The moustache bristled. Harry thought he knew what was going on behind the moustache:**

A little first year laughed and dragged her friends with her.

** a furious battle as two of Uncle Vernon's most fundamental instincts came into conflict.**

**Allowing Harry to go would make Harry happy, something Uncle Vernon had struggled against for thirteen years.**

**On the other hand, allowing Harry to disappear to the Weasleys' for the rest of the summer would get rid of him two weeks earlier than anyone could have hoped, and Uncle Vernon hated having Harry in the house.**

"Ass." The chasers called in furry.

**To give himself thinking time, it seemed, he looked down at Mrs Weasley's letter again.**

**"Who is this woman?" he said, staring at the signature with distaste.**

**"You've seen her," said Harry. "She's my friend Ron's mother, she was meeting him off the Hog- off the school train at the end of last term."**

"Nice save." Theo muttered leaning back into the cushions, his face heating up when his boyfriends gave him a smile that, well, you can guess.

**He had almost said "Hogwarts Express", and that was a sure way to get his uncle's temper up. Nobody ever mentioned the name of Harry's school aloud in the Dursley household.**

**Uncle Vernon screwed up his enormous face as though trying to remember something very unpleasant.**

**"Dumpy sort of woman?" he growled finally. "Load of children with red hair?**

"Who are you calling dumpy?" All the of the Weasley children hissed.

**Harry frowned. He thought it was a bit rich of Uncle Vernon to call anyone "dumpy", when his own son, Dudley, had finally achieved what he'd been threatening to do since the age of three, and become wider than he was tall.**

"Exactly." A large amount of the school called.

**Uncle Vernon was perusing the letter again.**

**"Quidditch," he muttered under his breath. "Quidditch - what is this rubbish?"**

**Harry felt a stab of annoyance.**

The Quidditch players growled.

**"It's a sport," he said shortly. "Played on broom-"**

**"All right, all right!" said Uncle Vernon loudly.**

**Harry saw, with some satisfaction, that his uncle looked vaguely panicky. Apparently his nerves wouldn't stand for the sound of a word "broomsticks" in his living room. He took refuge in perusing the letter again. Harry saw his lips form the words "send us your answer in the normal way." He scowled.**

"If he can't stand hearing about Quidditch this will get him." Lee snickered.

**"What does she mean, the normal way?" he spat.**

**"Normal for us," said Harry, and before his uncle could stop him, he added, "you know, owl post. That's what's normal for wizards."**

**Uncle Vernon looked as outraged as if Harry had just uttered a disgusting swear word. Shaking with anger, he shot a nervy look through the window, as though expecting to see some of the neighbours with their eyes pressed against the glass.**

Harry chuckled darkly.

**"How many times do I have to tell you not to mention that unnaturalness under my roof?" **

A wave of pure anger washed through the hall and people turned to the angels to see them looking at Theo. Note to selves, don't mess with him in regards to Harry.

**he hissed, his face now a rich plum colour. "You stand there, in the clothes Petunia and I have put on your ungrateful back -"**

**"Only after Dudley finished with them," said Harry coldly, and indeed, he was dressed in a sweatshirt so large for him that he had had to roll back the sleeves five times so as to be able to use his hands, and which fell past the knees of his extremely baggy jeans.**

**"I will not be spoken to like that!" said Uncle Vernon, trembling with rage.**

"Really." Gabriel laughed.

**But Harry wasn't going to stand for this. Gone were the days when he had been forced to take every singe one of the Dursleys' stupid rules.**

**He wasn't following Dudley's diet, and he wasn't going to let Uncle Vernon stop him going to the Quidditch World Cup, not if he could help it.**

**Harry took a deep, steadying breath and then said, "OK, I can't see the World Cup. Can I go now, then? Only I've got a letter to Sirius I want to finish. You know - my godfather."**

"At a boy." Blaise grinned. "I wish you had been in Slytherin."

"I think Professor Snape would have had a heart attack besides, I love my head of house, I got the best one." The Griffins cheered their agreement and no one had ever heard them so loud before.

**He had done it. He had said the magic words. Now he watched the purple recede blotchily from Uncle Vernon's face, making it look like badly mixed black currant ice-cream.**

**"You're - you're writing to him, are you?" said Uncle Vernon, in a would-be calm voice - but Harry had seen the pupils of his tiny eyes contract with sudden fear.**

Remus clapped proudly much to the mutts amusement.

**"Well - yeah," said Harry casually. "It's been a while since he heard from me, and, you know, if he doesn't, he might start thinking something's wrong."**

**He stopped to enjoy the effect of these words.**

**He could almost see the cogs working under Uncle Vernon's thick, dark, neatly parted hair. If he tried to stop Harry writing to Sirius, Sirius would think Harry was being mistreated. If he told Harry he couldn't go to the Quidditch World Cup, Harry would write and tell Sirius, who would **_**know**_** that he was being mistreated.**

"So Black is good for something." Lucius jeered only to have a curse thrown at him and he was helpless.

**There was only one thing for Uncle Vernon to do. Harry could see the conclusion forming in his mind as though the great mustached face was transparent.**

**Harry tried not to smile, to keep his own face as blank as possible. And then-**

**"Well, all right then. You can go to this ruddy...this stupid... this World Cup thing.**

Harry laughed as cheers echoed threw the hall.

**You write and tell these - these Weasleys they're to pick you up, mind. I haven't got time to go dropping you off all over the country. ****And you can spend the rest of the summer there. And you can tell your - your godfather ... tell him ... tell him you're going."**

**"OK then," said Harry brightly.**

**He turned and walked towards the living-room door, fighting the urge to jump into the air and whoop. **

"Why'd you bother?" Lavender asked.

**He was going... he was going to the Weasleys', he was going to watch the Quidditch World Cup!**

**Outside in the hall he nearly ran into Dudley, who had been lurking behind the door, clearly hoping to overhear Harry being told off. He looked shocked to see the broad grin on Harry's face.**

**"That was an **_**excellent**_** breakfast, wasn't it?" said Harry. "I feel really full, don't you?"**

The hall boomed with laughter at that

**Laughing at the astonished look on Dudley's face,**

Which made Percy have stop for another minute.

**Harry took the stairs three at a time, and hurried himself back into his bedroom.**

**The first thing he saw was that Hedwig was back.**

**She was sitting in her cage, staring at Harry with her enormous amber eyes, and clicking her beak in the way that meant she was annoyed about something.**

"You know her really well." Neville muttered.

**Exactly what was annoying her became apparent almost at once.**

**"OUCH!" said Harry.**

**What appeared to be a small, grey, feathery tennis ball had just collided with the side of Harry's head. Harry massaged his head furiously, looking up to see what had hit him, and saw a minute owl, small enough to fit into the palm of his hand, whizzing excitedly around the room like a loose firework.**

"PIG!" The Griffin boys called in annoyance making Sirius snicker.

**Harry then realized that the owl had dropped a letter at his feet. Harry bent down, recognized Ron's handwriting, then tore open the envelope.**

**Inside was a hastily scribbled note.**

_**Harry - DAD GOT THE TICKETS - Ireland versus Bulgaria, Monday night. Mum's writing to the Muggles to ask you to stay. They might already have the letter, I don't know how fast Muggle post is. Thought I'd send this with Pig anyway.**_

"What a name to give something." Alicia smiled.

**Harry stared at the word "Pig", then looked up at the tiny owl now zooming around the lampshade on the ceiling. He had never seen anything that looked less like a pig. Maybe he couldn't read Ron's writing.**.

**He went back to the letter:**

_**We're coming for you whether the Muggles like it or not, you can't miss the World Cup,**_

Another roar of cheers.

_**only Mum and Dad reckon its better if we pretend to ask their permission first. If they say yes, send Pig back with your answer pronto, and we'll come and get you at five o'clock on Sunday. If they say no, send Pig back pronto and we'll come and get you at five o'clock on Sunday anyway.**_

"Why bother making it that long winded?" Ron shrugged at Susan.

_**Hermione's arriving this afternoon.**_

_**Percy's started work - the Department of International Magical Co-operation. Don't mention anything about Abroad while you're here unless you want the pants bored off you.**_

All the Weasley kids and Harry snickered.

_**See you soon - Ron**_

**"Calm down!" said Harry, as the small owl flew low over his head, twittering madly with what Harry could only assume was pride at having delivered the letter to the right person.**

**"Come here, I need you to take my answer back!"**

**The owl fluttered down on top of Hedwig's cage. Hedwig looked coldly up at it, as though daring it to try and come any closer.**

"She's like the owl version of McGonagall." Harry muttered.

Every Griffin who heard burst out laughing but no one else dared as Minerva had heard but were shocked to see her lips twitching.

**Harry seized his eagle-feather quill once more, grabbed a fresh piece of parchment, and wrote:**

_**Ron, it's all OK, the Muggles say I can come. See you five o'clock tomorrow. Can't wait,**_

_**Harry**_

**He folded this note up very small and, with immense difficulty, tied it to the tiny owl's leg as it hopped on the spot with excitement. **

"Your not incinerating him."

"But Michael." Three whines came back.

**The moment the note was secure, the owl was off again, it zoomed out of the window and out of sight.**

**Harry turned to Hedwig.**

**"Feeling up to a long journey?" he asked her.**

**Hedwig hooted in a dignified sort of way.**

"I still can't believe actually treat her like a person." Daphne said with a raised eyebrow.

**"Can you take this to Sirius for me?" he said, picking up his letter. "Hang on ... I just want to finish it."**

**He unfolded the parchment again and hastily added a postscript.**

_**If you want to contact me, I'll be at my friends Ron Weasley's for the rest of the summer. His dad's got us tickets for the Quidditch World Cup!**_

Sirius smiled. "Thanks for telling me that."

**The letter finished, he tied it to Hedwig's leg; she kept unusually still, as though determined to show him how a real post owl should behave.**

**"I'll be at Ron's when you get back, all right?" Harry told her.**

**She nipped his finger affectionately, then, with a soft swooshing noise, spread her enormous wings and soared out of the open window.**

"She's incredible." Nev chuckled.

**Harry watched her out of sight, then crawled under his bed, wrenched up the loose floorboard, and pulled out a large chunk of birthday cake. He sat there on the floor eating it, savouring the happiness that was flooding through him.**

**He had cake, and Dudley had nothing but grapefruit; it was a bright summer's day, he would be leaving Privet Drive tomorrow, his scar felt perfectly normal again, and he was going to watch the Quidditch World Cup.**

**It was hard, just now, to feel worried about anything - even Lord Voldemort.**

"That's my cub." Remus shook his head.

"I'll read again." Fleur announced taking the book from Percy.


	4. Back To The Burrow

**CHAPTER FOUR - ****BACK TO THE BURROW **Fleur had to stop from the volume of cheers.

**By twelve o'clock the next day, Harry's trunk was packed with his school things, and all his most prized possessions - the Invisibility Cloak he had inherited from his father,**

Harry grinned a mile as did the Marauders thinking of all the trouble they'd cooked up.

**the broomstick he had got from Sirius,**

"Thanks again Siri."

"Anything for you pup."

The girls cooed as Harry blushed.

**And the enchanted map of Hogwarts he had been given by Fred and George Weasley last year.**

From his place he high-fived the twins.

**He had emptied his hiding place under the loose floorboard of all food, double-checked every nook and cranny of his bedroom for forgotten spellbooks or quills, and taken down the chart on the wall counting the days down to September the first, on which he liked to cross off the days remaining until his return to Hogwarts.**

Many a muggle born agreed.

**The atmosphere inside number four, Privet Drive was extremely tense. The imminent arrival at their house of an assortment of wizards was making the Dursleys uptight and irritable.**

_Like they weren't already. _Went through peoples heads.

**Uncle Vernon had looked downright alarmed when Harry informed him that the Weasleys would be arriving at five o'clock the very next day.**

For that the hall cheered.

**"I hope you told them to dress properly, these people," he snarled at once. "I've seen the sort of stuff your lot wear. They'd better have the decency to put on normal clothes, that's all."**

**Harry felt a slight sense of foreboding. He had rarely seen Mr or Mrs Weasley wearing anything that the Dursleys would call "normal".**

"Humans, normal doesn't exist."

"Samael!" The archangels shouted. He stood behind them in a similar outfit only he had a white shirt instead, caramel coloured hair and stunning violet eyes.

"Sorry but father wants Raphael for a little."

"Coming." He sighed. The sound of ruffling wings washed gently threw the hall as the two disappeared.

**Their children might don Muggle clothing during the holidays, but Mr and Mrs Weasley wore long robes in varying states of shabbiness. Harry wasn't bothered about what the neighbours would think, but he was anxious about how rude the Dursleys might be to the Weasleys if they turned up looking like their worst idea of wizards.**

"Worst?" Narcissa questioned with a dark smirk that her sister and cousin copied, the Dursleys wouldn't know what hit them.

**Uncle Vernon had put on his best suit. To some people, this might have looked like a gesture of welcome, but Harry knew it was because Uncle Vernon wanted to look impressive and intimidating.**

Many barked a laugh and then a real bark sounded as the four Lycans appeared.

"Hey guys, get it for me." Romulus changed to a puppy and dropped the paper into her lap. Clearing her throat the angel read.

"Husband and Wife mauled.

Vernon and Petunia Dursley were rushed to hospital yesterday after neighbors heard screams and went to investigate. As to what happened is unclear due to both still being in intensive care and the police have no leads, yada, yada, yay." She tossed it to Harry.

**Dudley, on the other hand, looked somehow diminished. This was not because the diet was at last taking effect, ****but due to fright.**

The twins gave dark, evil chuckles that made the hall shiver.

**Dudley had emerged from his last encounter with a fully grown wizard with a curly pig's tail poking out of the seat of his trousers, ****and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had had to pay for its removal at a private hospital in London. It wasn't altogether surprising, therefore, that Dudley kept running his hand nervously over his backside, and walking sideways from room to room, so as not to present the same target to the enemy.**

"Like that would stop us." Lee snickered.

**Lunch was an almost silent meal. Dudley didn't even protest at the food (cottage cheese and grated celery).**

**Aunt Petunia wasn't eating anything at all. Her arms were folded, her lips were pursed and she seemed to be chewing her tongue, as though biting back the furious diatribe she longed to throw at Harry.**

"Like I'd care." He shrugged.

**"They'll be driving, of course?" Uncle Vernon barked across the table.**

**"Er," said Harry.**

**He hadn't thought of that. How were the Weasleys going to pick him up? They didn't have a car anymore; the old Ford Anglia they had once owned was currently running wild in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.**

The students suddenly cracked up. Which sent a few teachers rolling after them.

**But Mr Weasley had borrowed a Ministry of Magic car last year; possibly he would do the same today?**

**"I think so," said Harry.**

**Uncle Vernon snorted into his moustache.**

"Eww!" Lavender squealed then shrunk into her self when Gabriel snarled.

**Normally, Uncle Vernon would have asked what car My Weasley drove; he tended to judge other men on how big and expensive their cars were, but Harry doubted whether Uncle Vernon would have taken to Mr Weasley even if he drove a Ferrari.**

"No just happy people thought he had friends who owned one." Hermione sniffed.

"You know Hermione that's getting to a bit of a bad habit." Blaise pointed out gently and Hermione nodded.

**Harry spent most of the afternoon in his bedroom; he couldn't stand watching Aunt Petunia peer out through the net curtains every few seconds, as though there had been a warning about escaped rhinoceros.**

A few people suddenly got ideas.

**Finally at a quarter to five, Harry went back into the living room.**

**Aunt Petunia was compulsively straightening cushions. Uncle Vernon was pretending to read the paper but his tiny eyes were not moving, and Harry was sure he was really listening with all his might for the sound of an approaching car. Dudley was crammed into an armchair, his porky hands beneath him, clamped firmly around his bottom.**

The entire student populous was laughing their heads off.

**Harry couldn't take the tension; he left the room, and went and sat on the stairs in the hall, his eyes on his watch and his heart pumping fast from excitement and nerves.**

**But five o'clock came and went. Uncle Vernon, perspiring slightly in his suit, opened the front door, peered up and down the street, then withdrew his head quickly.**

"And that's not odd." Angelina snickered.

**"They're late!" he snarled at Harry.**

**"I know," said Harry. "Maybe - er - the traffic's bad or something."**

"Work ran over for Dad." Rone explained.

**Ten past five ... then a quarter past five ... Harry was starting to feel anxious himself now.**

**At half past, he heard Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia conversing in terse mutters in the living room.**

"**No consideration at all."**

**"We might have had an engagement."**

"And Harry's old enough to stay in the house on his own." Alicia said as if it was a no brainer, which it was.

"**Maybe they think they'll get invited to dinner if they're late."**

**"Well, they most certainly won't be," said Uncle Vernon, and Harry heard him stand up and start pacing the living room. "They'll take the boy and go, there'll be no hanging around.**

The twins and Harry sniggered.

**That's if they're coming at all. Probably mistaken the day. I daresay **_**their**_** kind don't set much on punctuality. Either that or they drive some tin-pot car that's broken d-AAAAAAAARRRRRGH!"**

Harry burst into giggles.

**Harry jumped up. From the other side of the living-room door came the sounds of the three Dursleys scrambling, panic-stricken, across the room. Next moment Dudley came flying into the hall, looking terrified.**

The giggles became a laughing fit that he muffled into George's chest, setting one twin off then the other.

**"What happened?" said Harry. "What's the matter?"**

**But Dudley didn't seem able to speak. Hands still clamped over his buttocks, he waddled as fast as he could into the kitchen.**

Remus quickly cast a charm to stop the laughing trio from falling on the floor.

**Harry hurried into the living room.**

**Loud bangings and scrapings were coming from behind the Dursleys' boarded-up fireplace, which had a fake coal fire plugged in front of it.**

Hermione started giggling, Harry couldn't clam down so the twins couldn't and Theo and a few others gave in to the infectious laughter.

**"What is it?" gasped Aunt Petunia, who had backed into the wall and was staring, terrified, towards the fire. "What is it, Vernon?"**

**But they were left in doubt barely a second longer. Voices could be heard from inside the blocked fireplace. "Ouch! Fred, no - go back, go back, there's been some kind of mistake - tell George not to - OUCH! George, no, there's no room, go back quickly and tell Ron -"**

"Could they get back?" Angelina giggled and Arthur blushed making the laughter louder.

**"Maybe Harry can hear us, Dad - maybe he'll be able to let us out -"**

**There was a loud hammering of fists on the boards behind the electric fire.**

**"Harry? Harry, can you hear us?"**

**The Dursleys rounded on Harry like a pair of angry wolverines.**

"Oi!" While it was meant to be indignant, neither Remus nor Gabriel could stop laughing long enough to do it.

**"What is this?" growled Uncle Vernon. "What's going on?"**

**"They - they've tried to get here by Floo powder," said Harry, fighting a mad desire to laugh.**

People turned towards the Ravenette and burst out laughing them selves.

**"They can travel by fire - only you've blocked the fireplace - hang on -"**

**He approached the fireplace and called through the boards.**

A few ravens cracked up, further, figuring out the only way to get out.

**"Mr Weasley? Can you hear me?"**

**The hammering stopped. Somebody inside the chimney-piece said, "Shh!"**

**"Mr Weasley, it's Harry ... the fireplace has been blocked up. You won't be able to get through there."**

**"Damn!" said Mr Weasley's voice. "What on earth did they want to block the fireplace for?"**

**"They've got an electric fire," Harry explained.**

"Mr. Weasley will love that." Hermione laughed and others followed.

**"Really?" said Mr Weasley's voice excitedly. "Ecklectic, you say? With a plug? Gracious, I must see that ... **

The Griffins roared, some rolling on the floor.

**let's think ... ouch, Ron!"**

**Ron's voice now joined the others. "What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?"****Oh, no, Ron," came Fred's voice, very sarcastically. "No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up."**

**"Yeah, we're having the time of our lives here," said George, whose voice sounded muffled, as though he was squashed against the wall.**

"I was." He breathed. At the same time someone exclaimed.

"You can tell their voices apart?" Well, squeaked.

Harry nodded and composed himself. "What? Your mad if you think I'm telling you how."

**"Boys, boys ..." said Mr Weasley vaguely. "I'm trying to think what to do ... yes ... only way ... stand back, Harry."**

**Harry retreated to the sofa. Uncle Vernon, however, moved forwards.**

The raven from earlier got worse.

**"Wait a moment!" he bellowed at the fire. "What exactly are you going to -?"**

**BANG.**

Jaws dropped.

**The electric fire shot across the room as the boarded-up fireplace burst outwards, expelling Mr Weasley, Fred, George and Ron in a clod of rubble and loose chippings.**

Those typically seen in scarlet and gold started to jump around like it was one of their parties.

**Aunt Petunia shrieked and fell backwards over the coffee table; **

Harry was shaking in laughter again, buried in between the two red heads.

**Uncle Vernon caught her before she hit the floor and gaped, speechless, as the Weasleys, all of whom had bright red hair, including Fred and George, who were identical to the last freckle.**

"No, they're not." Harry said very quietly.

**"That's better," panted Mr Weasley, brushing dust from his long green roes and straightening his glasses. "Ah - you must be Harry's aunt and uncle!"**

"You blow up their fire place and that's all you say." Molly swelled like a bullfrog.

Molly was interrupted by humming and a little girl with black hair and clouded over white eyes skipped over her white and black lace dress swinging sweetly at the bottom from where the red ribbon tied it, a matching ribbon in her hair.

"Hello master." She smiled at Lucifer, placing her self next to him.

"Lilith." A few people gasped and stared at the little girl.

**Tall, thin and balding, he moved towards Uncle Vernon, his hand outstretched, but Uncle Vernon backed away several paces, dragging Aunt Petunia. Words utterly failed Uncle Vernon.**

Harry was, as you could probably guess, laughing his incredibly cute butt off.

**His best suit was covered in white dust, which had settled in his hair and moustache and made him look as though he had just aged thirty years.**

"Not like he could look uglier though is it?" Pavarti smirked.

**"Er - yes - sorry about that," said Mr Weasley, lowering his hand and looking over his shoulder at the blasted fireplace. "It's all my fault,**

"Yes it is." Molly said firmly.

"Molly." Molly shut up instantly at the honey voice.

**it just didn't occur to me that we wouldn't be able to get out at the other end. I had your fireplace connected to the Floo Network, you see - just for an afternoon, you know, so we could get Harry. Muggle fireplaces aren't supposed to be connected, strictly speaking - but I've got a useful contact at the Floo Regulation Panel and he fixed it for me. **

"You've got a lot of contacts." Harry marvelled and Arthur blushed.

**I can put it right in a jiffy, though, don't worry. I'll light a fire to send the boys back, and then I can repair your fireplace before I Disapparate."**

**Harry was ready to bet that Uncle Vernon hadn't understood a single word of this. **

"Aye!" Several people called.

**They were still gaping at Mr Weasley, thunderstruck. Aunt Petunia staggered upright again, and hid behind Uncle Vernon.**

**"Hello, Harry!" said Mr Weasley brightly. "Got your trunk ready?"**

The sniggering in the hall was justified.

**"It's upstairs," said Harry grinning back.**

**"We'll get it," said Fred at once. Winking at Harry, he and George left the room.**

"Oh no! This can't be good." Percy mock groaned but there was a smile on his lips.

**They knew where Harry's bedroom was, having once rescued him from it in the dead of night.**

**Harry suspected that Fred and George were hoping for a glimpse of Dudley; they had heard a lot about him from Harry.**

"Well..." Evil grins + Twins = Run for you life.

**"Well," said Mr Weasley, swinging his arms slightly, while he tried to find words to break the very nasty silence. "Very - erm - very nice place you've got here."**

A few people had to catch their laughter but managed.

**As the usually spotless living room was now covered in dust and bits of brick, this remark didn't go down too well with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon's face purpled once more, and Aunt Petunia started chewing her tongue again. However, they seemed too scared to actually say anything.**

"Thankfully they will never be Gryffindors." Neville's grandmother spoke up after a long time, she'd been keeping quiet because she didn't want to deal with certain people.

**Mr Weasley was looking around. He loved everything to do with Muggles. Harry could see him itching to go and examine the television and video recorder.**

**"They run off eckeltricity, do they?" he said knowledgeably. "Ah, yes, I can see the plugs. I collect plugs," he added to Uncle Vernon. "And batteries. Got a very large collection of batteries. ****My wife thinks I'm mad, but there you are."**

"Curiosity isn't a sin." Gabriel smirked.

"And we would know." Raphael sniggered.

Harry frowned at Lucifer, since Lilith's arrival he'd been much more tense.

**Uncle Vernon clearly thought Mr Weasley was mad, too. He moved ever so slightly to the right, screening Aunt Petunia from view, as though he thought Mr Weasley might suddenly run at them and attack.**

People choked at the ridiculous image, Mr Weasley was fine unless it was Lucius or you threatened his family.

**Dudley suddenly reappeared in the room. Harry could hear the clunk of his trunk of the stairs, and knew that the sounds had scared Dudley out of the kitchen. Dudley edged along the wall, gazing at Mr Weasley with terrified eyes, and attempted to conceal himself behind his mother and father.**

"Attempted?" Poppy's eyebrows shot to her hair line.

**Uncle Vernon's bulk, while sufficient to hide Aunt Petunia, was nowhere near enough to conceal Dudley.**

**"Ah, this is your cousin, is it, Harry?" said Mr Weasley, taking another brave stab at conversation.**

**"Yep," said Harry, "that's Dudley." He and Ron exchanged glanced then quickly looked away from each other; the temptation to burst out laughing was almost overwhelming.**

They glanced at one another now and a round of laughs came from their mouths.

**Dudley was still clutching his bottom as though afraid it might fall off. Mr Weasley, however, seemed genuinely concerned at Dudley's peculiar behaviour. **

"AAWW!" Quiet a few girls sighed making the eldest Weasley man blush slightly but he otherwise did nothing.

**Indeed, from the tone of his voice when he next spoke, Harry was quite sure that Mr Weasley thought Dudley was quite as mad as the Dursleys thought he was, except that Mr Weasley felt sympathy rather then fear.**

**"Having a good holiday, Dudley?" he said kindly. Dudley whimpered. Harry saw his hands tighten still harder over his massive backside.**

Gabriel was suddenly giggling but shot Lucifer a look and Harry caught it, he wouldn't lighten up around Lilith so the Gryffindor did something kinda stupid. He walked over and sat himself in the fallen's lap, snuggling into his chest and was rewarded with strong arms wrapping around his form and a blinding smile from his guardian angle however Lilith glared.

**Fred and George came back into the room, carrying Harry's school trunk. They glanced around as they entered and spotted Dudley. Their faces cracked into identical, evil grins.**

The entire hall was on tenter hooks anticipating madness.

**"Ah, right," said Mr Weasley. "Better get cracking, then."**

**He pushed up the sleeves of his robes and took out his wand. Harry saw the Dursleys draw back against the wall as one.**

**"**_**Incendio!" **_**said Mr Weasley, pointing his wand at the hole in the wall behind him.**

A few of the younger years made a note of the charm.

**Flame rose at once in the fireplace, crackling merrily as though they had been burning for hours. Mr Weasley took a small drawstring bag from his pocket, untied it, took a pinch of the powder inside and threw it onto the flames, which turned emerald green and roared higher then ever.**

**"Off you go then, Fred," said Mr Weasley.**

"I think you got it wrong Arthur." Molly said plainly.

**"Coming," said Fred. "Oh no - hang on -"**

"He didn't." Harry mumbled, well he didn't but he'd turned his against Lucifer's chest.

**A bag of sweets had spilled out of Fred's pocket and the contents were now rolling in every direction - big, fat toffees in brightly coloured wrappers.**

**Fred scrambled around, cramming them back into his pocket, then gave the Dursleys a cheery wave, stepped forward and walked right into the fire, saying, "The Burrow!" Aunt Petunia gave a little shuddering gasp.**

"Drama Queen." Angelina rolled her eyes.

**There was a whooshing sound, and Fred vanished.**

**"Right then, George," said Mr Weasley, "you and the trunk."**

**Harry helped George carry the trunk forward into the flames, and turn it onto its end so that he could hold it better.**

"Such a good boy." Andromeda said meaning it while mocking Molly as well. The hall knew Harry was blushing because what little of his hair could be seen was red.

**Then, with a second whoosh, George had cried, "The Burrow!" and vanished too.**

**"Ron, you next," said Mr Weasley.**

**"See you," said Ron brightly to the Dursleys.**

A few snickers went around the hall.

**He grinned broadly at Harry, then stepped into the fire, shouted, "The Burrow!" and disappeared.**

**Now Harry and Mr Weasley alone remained.**

**"Well...bye then," Harry said to the Dursleys.**

**They didn't say anything at all.**

Molly swelled like a bullfrog but someone decided to put a silencing spell on her.

**Harry moved towards the fire, but just as he reached the edge of the hearth, Mr Weasley put out a hand and held him back. He was looking at the Dursleys in amazement.**

**"Harry said goodbye to you," he said. "Didn't you hear him?"**

**"It doesn't matter," Harry muttered to Mr Weasley. "Honestly, I don't care."**

"That's not right." The two eldest Weasley boys muttered but didn't comment further.

**Mr Weasley did not remove his hand from Harry's shoulder.**

**"You aren't going to see your nephew 'til next summer," he said to Uncle Vernon in mild indignation. "Surely you are going to say goodbye?"**

**Uncle Vernon's face worked furiously. The idea of being taught consideration by a man who had just blasted away half his living-room wall seemed to be causing him intense suffering.**

"AAAWWW! This is going to be boring." Her older siblings shivered before shaking their heads.

**But Mr Weasley's wand was still in his hand, and Uncle Vernon's tiny eyes darted to it at once, before he said, very resentfully, "Goodbye, then."**

**"See you," said Harry, putting one foot forward into the green flames, which felt pleasantly like warm breath. At that moment, however, a horrible gagging sound erupted behind him, and Aunt Petunia started to scream.**

Gabriel literally jumped and was looking at the book intently much to her siblings amusement and slight (major) worry.

**Harry wheeled around. Dudley was no longer standing behind his parents. He was kneeling beside the coffee table, and he was gagging and spluttering on a foot-long, purple, slimy thing that was protruding from his mouth.**

Gabriel was containing hysterics as was anyone else who knew what that big purple thing was.

**One bewildered second later, Harry realized that that foot-long thin was Dudley's tongue - and that a brightly coloured toffee-wrapper lay on the floor before him.**

The twins were being high-fived to some's happiness and to other's disapproval (the banshee with red hair and the toad.)

**Aunt Petunia hurled herself onto the ground beside Dudley, seized the end of his swollen tongue and attempted to wrench it out of his mouth;**

The twins were howling and Lucifer was laughing thanks to the little bundle that was buried in his chest, imitating the twins.

**unsurprisingly, Dudley yelled and spluttered worse than ever, trying to fight her off.**

**Uncle Vernon was bellowing and waving his arms around, and Mr Weasley had to shout to make himself heard.**

**"Not to worry, I can sort him out!" he yelled, advancing on Dudley with his wand outstretched, but Aunt Petunia screamed worse than ever and threw herself on top of Dudley, shielding him from Mr Weasley.**

"I love humans." Gabriel gasped, her stomach cramping from laughing so hard.

**"No, really!" said Mr Weasley desperately. "It's a simple process - it was the toffee - my son Fred - real practical joker – but it's only an Engorgement Charm - at least, I think it is - please, I can correct it -"**

**But far from being reassured, the Dursleys became more panic-stricken; Aunt Petunia was sobbing hysterically, tugging Dudley's tongue as though determined to rip it out;**

The hall was in pure hysterics.

**Dudley appeared to be suffocating under the combined pressure of his mother and his tongue,and Uncle Vernon, who had lost control completely, seized a china figure from on top of the side-board, and threw it very hard at Mr Weasley,**

Even the Weasley kids were laughing to hard to get worked up.

**who ducked, causing the ornament to shatter in the blasted fireplace.**

**"Now really!" said Mr Weasley, angrily, brandishing his wand. "I'm trying to help!"**

**Bellowing like a wounded hippo, **

**It was possible to die from laughing and people were starting to have concerns about that.**

**Uncle Vernon snatched up another ornament.**

"**Harry, go! Just go!" Mr Weasley shouted, his wand on Uncle Vernon. "I'll sort this out!"**

**Harry didn't want to miss the fun, but Uncle Vernon's second ornament narrowly missed his left ear,**

**People calmed down a little hearing that, only a little mind you. **

**and on balance he thought it best to leave the situation to Mr Weasley.**

**He stepped into the fire, looking over his shoulder as he said, "The Burrow!"; his last fleeting glimpse of the living room was of Mr Weasley blasting a third ornament out of Uncle Vernon's hand with his wand, Aunt Petunia screaming and lying on top of Dudley, and Dudley's tongue rolling around like a great slimy python.**

**A few who had calmed down shivered at the mention of a python. **

**But next moment Harry had begun to spin very fast, and the Dursleys' living room was whipped out of sight in a rush of emerald green flames.**

**"Zat ez it." The French girl announced. **

**"Lunch I think." Dumbledore smiled.**

**Samael – Often seen as another name for Lucifer and one of the seven archangels. In mine he takes over for one of the archangels should they fall. **

**Lilith – The first human women who was changed into a demon by Lucifer when he was cast down to earth (doing this got him sent to hell) before being replaced by Eve. **


	5. Say Hello to the Greeks

Something was wrong, the angels could sense it and suddenly the earth shook again.

"Good Gods." Gabriel froze in place, it couldn't be but there was no other way. She ran through the hall and out into the forest, feeling around in the earth until it was there.

Tartarus was shaking, being pulled apart by the king of the Titans.

The archangel fell on the floor as the tremors got worse, how the hell did Kronus heal? She already knew the answer to that, it was always that thing, the toad using magic she knew nothing of, this could wipe the whole earth out, worse than anything Voldemort could ever do.

"Hermes." It was luckily seconds before the messenger god appeared and he didn't look to happy, must have been a day heavy on the gossip. "Gather the Olympians, I'll explain soon."

The archangel glowed in place, lighting up the area in a burning light as she transported to the edge of the pit.

The normally writhing flames were quieter as spikes fell from the ceiling though non of the dead here were affected, this meant what she was worried about, the monsters had already escaped.

What people often thought was wrong, the angels and prime-ordial were as old as each other and Chaos and God were brothers, God being order. The angels had worked with the gods until the rein of the Greeks and Romans, it was agreed that all who worshipped the Pagans would be under their control while the angels took the others.

Another tremor shook Hades kingdom and she spread her power, stabilizing what she could as more forced their way out.

She now knew why her father had called Raphael away, it was so that Zeus didn't throw a tantrum about the angels interfering, well screw him, most of the Gods were her friends after all she was a Trickster and Messenger like Hermes but for now, battle plans were in order and taking care of all the creatures.

* * *

Harry was walking out side, kicking a stone along when he heard it, it was a great bellow like a wild boar, snorting and then the sound of thunder? Against the ground? He turned towards it and jumped to the side.

What the fuck?

It's legs were human and the torso the same but XXL size covered in matted black fur, the head was that of a bull and it's small beady eyes focused on the frozen saviour.

The Minotaur charged forward only to burst into dust before impact, a golden arrow landed in the ground as the sun shone brighter.

Carefully picking it up Harry inspected the arrow and saw one Greek word, Apollo.


	6. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

**CHAPTER 5 - WEASLEY'S WIZARD WHEEZES **Kingsley's calm voice spread through the hall.

**Harry spun faster and faster, elbows tucked tightly to his sides, blurred fireplaces flashing past him, until he started to feel sick and closed his eyes.**

"Good idea." The mutter over lapped making it indistinct

**Then, when at last he felt himself slowing down, he threw out his hands, and brought himself to a halt in time to prevent himself falling face forwards out of the Weasleys' kitchen fire.**

**"Did he eat it?" said Fred excitedly, holding out a hand to pull Harry to his feet.**

"Why is it your always nice to him?" Ginny huffed.

"Maybe because he showed he cares." George snapped.

"And that we are Fred and George not just the trouble making twins." Fred said, venom lacing his words.

**"Yeah," said Harry, straightening up. "What was**** it?"**

**"Ton-Tongue Toffee," said Fred brightly. "George and I invented them,**

**Raucous cheers came form the Lions to no-one surprise while the teachers look torn between impressed and disapproval.**

**we've been looking for someone to test them on all summer..."**

**The tiny kitchen exploded with laugher; Harry looked around and saw that Ron and George were sitting at the scrubbed wooden table with two red-haired people Harry had never seen before, though he knew immediately who they must be: Bill and Charlie, the two eldest Weasley brothers.**

"Not hard to figure is it?" Ron asked absently and a few nodded in the same way.

**"How're you doing, Harry?" said the nearer of the two, grinning at him and holding out a large hand, which Harry shook, feeling calluses and blisters under his fingers. This had to be Charlie, who worked with dragons in Romania.**

"Not bad lad." Moody said in his usual gruff voice.

**Charlie was built like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky. He had a broad, good-natured face, which was weather-beaten and so freckly that he looked almost tanned; his arms were muscly,**

"Why does he get a good description?"A few people said outraged as their's was anything but.

**and one of them had a large, shiny burn on it.**

**Bill got to his feet, smiling and also shook Harry's hand.**

**Bill came as something of a surprise.**

Why was the message Harry got from those looks and he just gestured to the book

**Harry knew that he worked for the wizarding bank, Gringotts, that he had been Head Boy of Hogwarts, and had always imagined Bill to be an older version of Percy; fussy about rule-breaking and fond of bossing everyone around.**

Some people looked decreased at Bill being called that while others laughed at Percy.

**However, Bill was - there was no other word for it – cool****.**

Bill leaned over and kissed the fifth year who blushed furiously getting more laughs.

**He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it. His clothes would not have looked out of place at a rock concert, except that Harry recognised his boots to be made, not of leather, but of dragon hide.**

Most people were smiling and the muggle raised agreed with the rock concert part.

**Before any of them could say anything else, there was a faint popping noise, and Mr Weasley appeared out of thin air at George's shoulder.**

**He was looking angrier than Harry had ever seen him.**

"Not hard be beat to be honest though." Harry admitted.

**"That wasn't funny****, Fred!" he shouted.**

"Yes it was!" It was a unanimous decision among the stdents.

**"What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?"**

**"I didn't give him anything," said Fred, with another evil grin. "I just dropped**** it ... it was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to."**

Sirius and Remus burst out laughing looking proud as you like, the Marauders knew how Slytherin they were and to be honest were proud of it.

**"You dropped it on purpose!" roared Mr Weasley. "You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a diet -"**

**"How big did his tongue get?" George asked eagerly.**

**"It was four foot long before his parents would let me shrink it!"**

**Harry and the Weasleys roared with laughter again.**

As of course did the hall.

**"It isn't funny****!" Mr Weasley shouted. "That sort of behaviour seriously undermines wizard-Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons -"**

"Oh, so that's why your so angry." Susan nodded.

**"We didn't give it to him because he was a Muggle!" said Fred indignantly.**

**"No, we gave it to him because he's a great bullying git," said George.**

**"Isn't he, Harry?"**

**"Yeah, he is, Mr Weasley," said Harry earnestly.**

"And that should have at least calmed you down." Amelia said pleasantly.

**"That's not the point!" raged Mr Weasley. "You wait until I tell your mother -"**

**"Tell me what?" said a voice behind them.**

**Mrs Weasley had just entered the kitchen.**

**She was a short, plump woman with a very kind face, though her eyes were presently narrowed with suspicion.**

"They always are around us." The twins muttered.

**Draco rubbed Fred's shoulder while Angelina did the same for George. **

**"Oh, hello, Harry dear," she said, spotting him and smiling.**

**Then her eyes snapped back to her husband. "Tell me what****, Arthur?"**

**Mr Weasley hesitated. Harry could tell that, however angry he was with Fred and George, he hadn't really intended to tell Mrs Weasley what had happened.**

**"**Yeah because he doesn't believe in torture."

"Luckily for us."

**There was a silence, while Mr Weasley eyed his wife nervously.**

**Then two girls appeared in the kitchen doorway behind Mrs Weasley. One, with very bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth, was Harry and Ron's friend, Hermione Granger.**

The pillow was only just caught, she could pack as much power into a punch as a throw.

**The other, who was small and red-haired, was Ron's younger sister, Ginny.**

Said small red head sunk into her seat with a childish pout.

**Both of them smiled at Harry, who grinned back, which made Ginny go scarlet - she had been very taken with Harry ever since his first visit to The Burrow.**

"Way before that." The boys said in long suffering voices.

**"Tell me what****, Arthur?" Mrs Weasley repeated, in a dangerous sort of voice.**

**"It's nothing, Molly," mumbled Mr Weasley, "Fred and George just - but I've had words with them - "**

**"What have they done this time?" said Mrs Weasley. "If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes**** -"**

**"**Which are awesome." A couple of voices broke through and may people agreed, much to Molly's shock, maybe she had been to harsh on the boys.

**"Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?" said Hermione from the doorway.**

**"He knows where he's sleeping," said Ron. "In my room, he slept there last -"**

**"We can all go," said Hermione, pointedly.**

**"Oh," said Ron, cottoning on. "Right."**

Almost all Slytherins face palmed and agreed, Ron would never be one of them.

**"Yeah, we'll come too," said George.**

**"You stay where you are****!" snarled Mrs Weasley.**

"Nice try." Tonks said synthetically.

**Harry and Ron edged out of the kitchen, and they, Hermione and Ginny set off along the narrow hallway and up the rickety staircase that zig-zagged through the house to the upper storeys.**

**"What are Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked as they climbed.**

The hall burst out laughing minus a few.

**Ron and Ginny both laughed, although Hermione didn't.**

She blushed bright, bright red.

**"Mum found this stack of order forms when she was cleaning Fred and George's room," said Ron quietly. "Great long price-lists for stuff they've invented. Joke stuff, you know. Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant, I never knew they'd been inventing all that ..."**

**"We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages, but we never thought they were actually making**** things," said Ginny. "We thought they just liked the noise."**

"That to." They grinned and the hall laughed, no one bothering to stifle their giggles.

**"Only, most of the stuff - well, all of it, really - was a bit dangerous," said Ron,**

**"**If it was dangerous they wouldn't sell it." Harry said firmly and the twins were the ones who kissed him.

"That's it, hands of my boyfriend." Theo said loudly and it took a lot of will power not to laugh.

**"and, you know, they were planning to sell it at Hogwarts to make some money, and Mum went mad at them. Told them they weren't allowed to make any more of it, and burnt all the order forms ... she's furious at them anyway. They didn't get as many OWls as she expected."**

**OWLs were Ordinary Wizarding Levels, the examinations Hogwarts students took at the age of fifteen.**

The fifth year and above groaned at the mere thought. Not including Hermione of course.

**"And then there was this big row," Ginny said, "because Mum wants them to go into the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they told her all they wanted to do is open a joke-shop."**

"And they'll be brilliant at it." Minerva said with a fond smile and Molly paled, she'd definitely been to harsh with the boys.

**Just then, a door on the second landing opened, and a face poked out wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a very annoyed expression.**

**"Hi, Percy," said Harry.**

**"Oh, hello, Harry," said Percy. "I was wondering who was making all the noise.**

"All the noise Perce?" Bill said disbelieving.

"**I'm trying to work in here, you know - I've got a report to finish for the office - and it's rather difficult to concentrate when people keep thundering up and down the stairs."**

Charlie and Bill suddenly had their brother in head locks giving him a nugie.

**"We're not thundering****," said Ron irritably. "We're walking. Sorry if we've disturbed the top-secret workings of the Ministry of Magic."**

**"What are you working on?" said Harry.**

"Harry!"

"I was being polite!"

**"A report for the Department of International Magical Co-operation," said Percy smugly.**

And there went the idea of letting him go.

**"We're trying to standardise cauldron thickness. Some of these foreign imports are just a shade too thin - leakages have been increasing at a rate of almost three per cent a year -"**

**"That'll change the world, that report will," said Ron. "Front page of the Daily Prophet****, I expect, cauldron leaks."**

"Don't be so harsh." Molly scolded.

**Percy went slightly pink. "You might sneer, Ron," he said heatedly, "but unless some sort of international law is imposed we might well find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products which seriously endanger -"**

"While it can get dangerous there is no reason to be so smug." Kingsley interrupted himself.

"**Yeah, yeah, all right," said Ron, and he started off upstairs again.**

**Percy slammed his bedroom door shut. As Harry, Hermione and Ginny followed Ron up three more flights of stairs, shouts from the kitchen below echoed up to them.**

**It sounded as though Mr Weasley had told Mrs Weasley about the toffees.**

"And she over reacted as normal." The twins growled.

**The room at the top of the house where Ron slept looked much as it had done the last time Harry had come to stay; the same posters of Ron's favourite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons,**

Those retches weren't just fake ones.

**were whirling and waving on the walls and sloping ceiling, and the fish tank on the window-sill which had previously held frog-spawn now contained one extremely large frog. Ron's old rat, Scabbers, was here no more,**

"If only that were true." Sirius growled.

**but instead there was the tiny grey owl that had delivered Ron's letter to Harry in Privet Drive. It was hopping up and down in a small cage, twittering madly.**

**"Shut up****, Pig,"**

"I still can't believe it's called Pig." Remus snickered.

**said Ron, edging his way between two of the four beds that had been squeezed into the room. "Fred and George are in here with us, because Bill and Charlie are in their room," he told Harry. "Percy gets to keep his room all to himself because he's got to work****."**

"Your just worried the twins will prank you." Hermione said knowingly.

"And mum wouldn't let me share with Bill and Charlie because she was worried about Harry."

"But the twins never prank me." Harry said as if he couldn't believe Mrs Wealsey who was shocked at the reverlation.

**"Er - why are you calling that owl Pig?" Harry asked Ron.**

"**Because he's being stupid," said Ginny. "Its proper name is Pigwidgeon."**

The hall was suddenly rolling on the floor, tears rolling down their cheeks, the laughter so hard it was silent.

"**Yeah, and that's not a stupid name at all," said Ron sarcastically.**

**"Ginny named him," he explained to Harry. "She reckons it's sweet.**

Michael snorted and thought of a very Gabriel retort.

"As sweet as a sluty obsessive red-head." Lucifer voiced for him.

**And I tried to change it, but it was too late, he won't answer to anything else. So now he's Pig. I've got to keep him up here because he annoys Errol and Hermes. He annoys me, too, come to that."**

"An owl called Hermes, hope he doesn't have the same personality." Though both angels knew Lucifer was joking, Hermes was really cool.

**Pigwidgeon zoomed happily around his cage, hooting shrilly. Harry knew Ron too well to take him seriously. He had moaned continually about his old rat Scabbers, but had been most upset when Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, appeared to have eaten him.**

**"Where's Crookshanks?" Harry asked Hermione now.**

**"Out in the garden, I expect," she said. "He likes chasing gnomes, he's never seen any before."**

"Well that's a good use for them, entertaining Crookshanks." Blaise laughed.

**"Percy's enjoying work, then?" said Harry, sitting down on one of the beds and watching the Chudley Cannons zooming in and out of the posters on the ceiling.**

**"Enjoying it?" said Ron darkly. "I don't reckon he'd come home if Dad didn't make him.**

So people's cheeks puffed out while other bit the inside of their's.

**He's obsessed. Just don't get him onto the subject of his boss. According to Mr Crouch ... as I was saying to Mr Crouch ... Mr Crouch is of the opinion... Mr Crouch was telling me... ****They'll be announcing their engagement any day now."**

That was almost as funny as Pigwidgeon, well just as but they were to exhausted to laugh properly.

**"Have you had a good summer, Harry?" said Hermione. "Did you get our food parcels and everything?"**

**"Yeah, thanks a lot," said Harry. "They saved my life, those cakes."**

**"And have you heard from -?" Ron began, but at a look from Hermione he fell silent.**

**Harry knew he had been about to ask about Sirius.**

"Well Ginny isn't with us normally." He shrugged but you could from his expression who knew wha he'd done wrong.

**Ron and Hermione had been so deeply involved in helping Sirius escape from the Ministry of Magic that they were almost as concerned about Harry's godfather as he was.**

"Thanks a lot you two." The soon to be ex-convict smiled.

**However, discussing him in front of Ginny was a bad idea. Nobody but themselves, and Professor Dumbledore knew about how Sirius escaped, or believed his innocence.**

Glares, very intense ones that made Superman's heat vision look weak, were sent at the minister.

**"I think they've stopped arguing," said Hermione, to cover that awkward moment because Ginny was looking curiously from Ron to Harry. "Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?"**

"Nicely done Granger." Moody barked and the girl flushed slightly.

**"Yeah, all right," said Ron. The four of them left Ron's room and went back downstairs, to find Mrs Weasley alone in the kitchen, looking extremely bad-tempered.**

**"We're eating out in the garden," she said when they came in."There's just no room for eleven people in here.**

"Enlargement charm on the room." Andromeda suggested and Narcissa nodded.

**Could you take the plates outside, girls? Bill and Charlie are setting up the tables. Knives and forks, please, you two," she said to Ron and Harry, pointing her wand a little more vigorously than she had intended at a pile of potatoes in the sink, which shot out of their skins so fast that they ricocheted off the walls and ceilings.**

People wisely held in the snorts, if you they actually cared about Molly.

**"Oh, for heaven's sake****," she snapped, now directing her wand at a dustpan, which hopped off the side and started skating across the floor, scooping up the potatoes. "Those two!" she burst out savagely,**

"Are intelligent and ambitious, and know what they want." Remus said firmly much to Molly and the twins embarrassment.

**now pulling pots and pans out of a cupboard, and Harry knew she meant Fred and George. "I don't know what's going to happen to them, I really don't. No ambition, unless you count making as much trouble as they possibly can..."**

"And you obviously only see what you want to see, there is nothing wrong with making people want to laugh." Sirius sided with his fellow Marauder.

**She slammed a large copper saucepan down on the kitchen table and began to wave her wand around inside it. A creamy sauce poured from the wand tip as she stirred.**

**"It's not as though they haven't got brains," she continued irritably,**

"At least you realise that." The last two to comment muttered.

**taking the saucepan over to the stove and lighting it with a further poke of her wand, "but they're wasting them, and unless they pull themselves together soon, they'll be in real trouble. I've had more owls from Hogwarts about them then the rest put together. If they carry on the way they're going, they'll end up in front of the Improper Use of Magic Office."**

Mrs Weasley jabbed her wand at the cutlery drawer, which shot open. Harry and Ron both jumped out of the way as several knives soared out of it,

Molly's eyes widened and then she went deathly pale as the two Marauders turned her way.

"If you ever do something like that around my Pup."

"Ever again and show you why."

"You should never mess with a Black."

"Or a werewolf."

**flew across the kitchen and began chopping the potatoes, which had just been tipped back into the sink by the dustpan.**

**"I don't know where we went wrong with them," said Mr Weasley, putting down her wand and starting to pull out still more saucepans. "It's been the same for years, one thing after another, and they won't listen to - OH, NOT AGAIN****!"**

"KINGSLEY!" He just smirked.

**She had picked up her wand from the table, and it had emitted a loud squeak and turned into a giant rubber mouse.**

The hall forgot about the shout in favour of laughing.

**"One of their fake wands again!" she shouted.**

**"How many times have I told those two not to leave them lying around?" She grabbed her real wand and turned around to find that the sauce on the stove was smoking.**

**"C'mon," Ron said hurriedly to Harry, seizing a handful of cutlery from the open drawer, "let's go and help Bill and Charlie."**

"Good idea." Anthony shivered.

**They left Mrs Weasley, and headed out of the back door into the yard.**

**They had only gone a few paces when Hermione's bandy-legged, ginger cat Crookshanks**

**came pelting out of the garden, bottle-brush tail held high in the air, chasing what looked like a muddy potato on legs.**

A few light snorts but not much.

**Harry recognised it instantly as a gnome. Barely ten inches tall, its horny little feet pattered very fast as it sprinted across the yard and dived headlong into one of the wellington boots that lay scattered around the door. Harry could hear it giggling madly as Crookshanks inserted a paw into the boot, trying to reach it.**

"Not very intelligent." Some one muttered, thinking out loud.

**Meanwhile, a very loud crashing noise was coming from the other side of the house.**

**The source of the commotion was revealed as they entered the garden and saw that Bill and Charlie both had their wands out, and were making two battered old tables fly high above the lawn, smashing into each other, each attempting to knock the other's out of the air.**

All Griffins and a lot of the guys and a few girls cheered and laughed.

**Fred and George were cheering; Ginny was laughing, and Hermione was hovering near the hedge, apparently torn between amusement and anxiety.**

Cue eye rolls and Hermiones huff.

**Bill's table caught Charlie's with a huge bang, and knocked one of its legs off.**

"Go Bill." And more cheers.

**There was a clatter from overhead, and they all looked up to see Percy's head poking out of a window on the second floor.**

**"Will you keep it down?" he bellowed.**

"KILL JOY!" Percy had the decency to blush from where he was still being attacked by his older brothers.

**"Sorry, Perce," said Bill, grinning. "How're the cauldron bottoms coming on?"**

**"Very badly," said Percy peevishly, and he slammed the window shut again.**

The snickering was eerie as it echoed and a then another tremor went through the earth.

**Chuckling, Bill and Charlie directed the tables safely onto the grass, end to end, and then, with a flick of his wand, Bill reattached the table leg, and conjured tablecloths from nowhere.**

**By seven o'clock, the two tables were groaning under dishes and dishes of Mrs Weasley's excellent cooking, and the nine Weasleys, Harry and Hermione were settling themselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep-blue sky.**

Everyone minus the bigots smiled, they could all appreciate that.

**To somebody who had been living on meals of increasingly stale cake all summer, this was paradise, and at first, Harry listened rather than talked, as he helped himself to chicken-and-ham pie, boiled potatoes and salad.**

"At least he can eat a balanced meal." Poppy murmured to herself.

**At the far end of the table, Percy was telling his father all about his report on cauldron bottoms.**

"How do you live through that?" Colin asked.

"I like seeing my children happy." Was the simple reply.

**"I've told Mr Crouch that I'll have it ready by Tuesday," Percy was saying pompously. "That's a bit sooner than he expected it, but I like to keep on top of things. I think he'll be grateful I've done it in good time.** **I mean, it's extremely busy in out department just now, what with all the arrangements of the World Cup. We're just not getting the support we need from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ludo Bagman -"**

Cheers raised the roof as the twins and those who knew about the money glared.

**"I like Ludo," said Mr Weasley mildly. "He was the one who got us such good tickets for the Cup. I did him a bit of a favour: his brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble - a lawnmower with unnatural powers - I smoothed the whole thing over."**

"Of course you would, that's why everyone likes you." Amelia chuckled.

The other ministry members that were decent nodded.

**"Oh, Bagman's likeable enough, of course," said Percy dismissively,** **"but how he ever got to be Head of Department when I compare him to Mr Crouch! I can't see Mr Crouch losing a member of our department and not trying to find out what's happened to them. You realise Bertha Jorkins**

A tremor went through Harry then reverberated across the hall.

**has been missing for over a month now? Went on holiday to Albania and never came back?"**

**"Yes, I was asking Ludo about that," said Mr Weasley, frowning. "He says Bertha's got lost plenty of times before now - though, I must say, if it was someone in my department, I'd be worried..."**

**"Oh, Bertha's hopeless****, all right," said Percy. "I hear she's been shunted from department to department for years, much more trouble than she's worth …**

The two eldest boys let there brother go who looked ashamed as they gently rubbed his back, this book was making people's emotions do 360s

**but all the same, Bagman ought to be trying to find her. Mr Crouch has been taking a personal interest - she worked in our department at one time, you know, and I think Mr Crouch was quite fond of her - but Bagman just keeps laughing and saying she probably misread the map and ended up in Australia instead of Albania. However," Percy heaved an impressive sigh, and took a deep swig of elderflower wine, "we've got quite enough on our plates at the Department of International Magical Co-operation without trying to find members of other departments too. As you know, we've got another big event to organize right after the World Cup."**

"You know if you don't want to come across as more pompous then Zeus you've failed badly." Raphael said after a soft rustle of wings and his appearance.

"Zeus as in the king of the Greek gods?" Dumbledore said astonished.

"That's the one, also now as Jupiter to the Romans, your ability's come mostly from Hecate, you know the goddess of magic." Lucifer rolled his eyes.

**He cleared his throat significantly and looked down towards the end of the table where Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting. "You**** know the one I'm talking about, Father." He raised his voice slightly. "The top-secret one."**

"Arse." Harry hissed to himself, pouting making Theo kiss him this time only the emerald eyed boy rested a hand on his neck, drawing the kiss out so it was soft and lingering.

**Ron rolled his eyes and muttered to Harry and Hermione, "He's been trying to get us to ask what that event is ever since he started work. Probably an exhibition of thick-bottomed cauldrons."**

"I wish." Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair as Cedric and the other champions shivered.

**In the middle of the table, Mrs Weasley was arguing with Bill about his earring, which seemed to be a recent acquisition.**

**"... with a horrible great fang on it, really, Bill, what do they say at the bank?"**

"Goblins won't care." Narcissa said plainly.

**"Mum, no one at the bank gives a damn how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure," said Bill patiently.**

**"And your hair's getting silly, dear," said Mrs Weasley, fingering her wand lovingly. "I wish you'd let me give it a trim …"**

**"**And it is kind of sexy." Few could believe that one Harry was saying that, and two, in front of his boyfriend.

"Agreed." Theo whispered in his ear.

**"I like it," said Ginny, who was sitting beside Bill. "You're so old-fashioned, Mum. Anyway, it's nowhere near as long as Professor Dumbledore's ..."**

**Next to Mrs Weasley, Fred, George and Charlie were all talking spiritedly about the World Cup.**

**"It's got to be Ireland," said Charlie thickly, through a mouthful of potato. "They flattened Peru in the semi-finals."**

The hall nearly, nearly shook

**"Bulgaria has got Viktor Krum, though," said Fred.**

And the same reaction.

**"Krum's one decent player, Ireland has got seven," said Charlie shortly.**

This getting ridiculous.

**"What happened?" said Harry eagerly, regretting more than ever his isolation from the wizarding world when he was stuck in Privet Drive.**

The cheers changed to hisses.

**Harry was passionate about Quidditch.**

**He had played as Seeker on the Gryffindor house Quidditch team ever since his first year at Hogwarts**

"AND IS THE BEST." The cheers form Harry's house were as loud as when they cheered for McGonagall.

**and owned a Firebolt, one of the best racing brooms in the world.**

**"Went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten,"**

The ones in the room hissed as if in physical pain.

**said Charlie gloomily.** **"Shocking performance. And Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland were slaughtered by Luxembourg."**

**Mr Weasley conjured up candles to light the darkening garden before they had their pudding (home-made strawberry ice-cream),**

A few people were drooling, mainly Ron.

**and by the time they had finished, moths were fluttering low over the table and the warm air was perfumed with the smells of grass and honeysuckle.**

**Harry was feeling extremely well fed and at peace with the world**

Of course you can't have one without the other.

**as he watched several gnomes sprinting through the rose bushes, laughing madly and closely pursued by Crookshanks.**

**Ron looked carefully up the table to check that the rest of the family were all busy talking, then he said very quietly to Harry. "So - have**** you heard from Sirius lately?"**

"Good Lad." Moody said and Ron almost beamed with pride.

**Hermione looked round, listening closely.**

**"Yeah," said Harry softly, "twice. He sounds OK. I wrote to him the day before yesterday. He might write back while I'm here."**

**He suddenly remembered the reason he had written to Sirius and, for a moment, was on the verge of telling Ron and Hermione about his scar hurting again, and about the dream which had awoken him ...but he really didn't want to worry them just now, not when he himself was feeling so happy and peaceful.**

Theo shook his head fondly and pulled his incredible boyfriend into his arms.

**"Look at the time," Mrs Weasley said suddenly, checking her wristwatch. "You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you, you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup.**

Said people wrinkled their noses.

**Harry, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be time after the World Cup, the match went on for five days last time."**

**"Wow - I hope it does this time!" said Harry enthusiastically.**

"Wonder how much of a slaughter that would have been." Every student whistled to cover up where the voice came from but they all really wanted to laugh.

**"Well, I certainly don't," said Percy sanctimoniously. "I shudder**** to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days."**

"Not much as everyone would be either at the game or listening to it." Amelia pointed out.

**"Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?" said Fred.**

**"That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway!" said Percy going very red in the face. "It was nothing personal****!"**

**"It was," Fred whispered to Harry, as they got up from the table. "We sent it."**

The hall roared yet again as Kingsley gave the book to Amelia.


	7. Lady Ashlyn

**Lady Ashlyn is officially dedicated to ShineBightGranger, thanks a lot Ashton. **

The tweleve argued louder and louder with poor Hestia sat in the middle.

"Quiet!" The twelve Olympian gods of the Greeks and Romans turned to see Gabriel, her eyes smouldering as she looked upon them.

Zeus swelled in pure anger at the intrusion.

"What's happening?" The god of the sea cut in

"A witch has used forbidden magic to break your father out of Tartarus so she can get rid of the angels which leaves Harry open for attack." Gabriel said calmly.

"We should work together." Athena said loudly and few would argue with the goddess of Wisdom.

"Will we see Lucifer again?" Aphrodite, the blond slut simpered, she'd been after the fallen anel for a long time.

"I'd like to know that." Apollo spoke, he looked a lot like Michael but more lithe with feminine features, his skin had a golden glitter to it and Gabriel laughed.

"He's been dying to see you to, oh and Hermes I know Azrael would love to get his hands on you." Hermes blushed, him and the archangel of death had a very interesting relationship that normally meant meeting up and the Greek finding him self pinned against the wall while his work was mysteriously done.

"Anyway, Kronus has sent out different creatures that previously resided in there to the human world you know as well as I do that Hogwarts will be his first target along with other Wizarding schools, make sure that nothing happens to them." Gabriel growled and was gone, she was no longer the playfully trickster, she was the chosen one and a pure bred warrior.

* * *

She stormed heaven, ignoring at the smooth white marble and sneering the direction of the vain gold statues. No one would challenge the angel as she walked to the throne room, the solid gold room made her sick and confirmed her fathers lies about being perfect.

"If your going to play games you will not drag us into them, between us all you can easily be over thrown, do not make the mistake of pushing us to far." Gabriel barely glanced at the Albino looking man but she did know Raphael was following her. A few of the older angels who knew them better smiled and the younger one who were scared bowed under the powerful and destructive aura they gave, now it was time to plan the massacre.

* * *

Gabriel sighed, she was exhausted between the readings and having to resume her old role as an archangel, now on top of all that she had to deal with hundreds of Greek 'Myths'. She didn't want to drag her friend into this but she was the only person she trusted to help with this.

She walked through Olympus, ignoring the whispers from the minor Gods and Goddess, finding her self by the water fall and smiling at what she saw.

Small stars danced around her friend, long gold streaked brown sway around her as the winds drifted by, standing out against pale skin and a deep red chiton of the finest quality.

"And here I thought the Goddess of Time and Space would have something important to do." Gabriel hugged her old friend, golden tan standing a pale Greek complexion and pulling back smouldering gold met penetrating brown.

"Ashlyn, I need your help, I'm sorry to drag you..."

"Don't I know how you feel about your charge, take Michael and deal with this war, me and Apollo will go to Hogwarts." The human turned goddess said shortly and Gabriel gave a soft smile before smirking.

"Apollo hum." Her Lady Ashlyn blushed a light gold at her friends smirk.

"Oh go away." She pouted at the archangel.

"Yes cutie-pie." Then her tone became more serious. "Thank you Ashlyn, I don't deserve a friend like you." And in a rustle of wings she was gone and the Goddess disappear in a gentle breeze.


	8. The Portkey

A gold light glowed and all had to look away before if faded revealing two figures. One had golden hair and skin and stood as the Greek ideal of a young man while the other was a delicate beauty with an air of majesty.

"Before you ask I am Apollo, God of music, poetry and so on." He wore tight white jeans and a black vest that showed off a well-toned body. He pretty much glided over to the angels and whispered to Michael so that he left in a flutter of wings. The God sat beside Lucifer who almost drooled.

"I am Ashlyn, Goddess of time and space." She slid over, her chiton skimming the ground at the back, golden star shaped clasps resting on her shoulder and a matching gold tie holding it at her waist, sitting smoothly next to Hemrione.

**CHAPTER SIX -THE PORTKEY** Amelia started, slightly unsettled by the appearance of two very powerful Greek immortals while Dolores paled, they knew what she'd done.

**Harry felt as though he had barely lain down to sleep in Ron's room when he was being shaken awake by Mrs Weasley.**

"It was horrible." The twins cried and Ashlyn laughed lightly, eyes gently skimming the handsome twins.

**"Time to go, Harry, dear," she whispered, moving away to wake Ron.**

**Harry felt around for his glasses, put them on and sat up. It was still dark outside. **

The hall sounded unstable due to the echoed groan.

**Ron muttered indistinctly as his mother roused him. **

**At the foot of Harry's mattress he saw two large, dishevelled shapes emerging from tangles of blankets. **

"It was to dark to see." Harry muttered sheepishly,

**"S'time already?" said Fred groggily.**

**They dressed in silence, too sleepy to talk, then, yawning and stretching, the four of them headed downstairs into the kitchen.**

"What it didn't mention was Harry leaning on us the entire way down." Fred narrowed his eyes drawing another laugh form the Goddess.

**Mrs Weasley was stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove, while Mr Weasley was sitting at the table, checking a sheaf of large parchment tickets. **

**He looked up as the boys entered, and spread his arms so that they could see his clothes more clearly. **

**He was wearing what appeared to be a golfing jumper and a very old pair of jeans, slightly too big for him and held up with a thick leather belt.**

"Nice." Quiet a few people nodded approvingly.

**"What d'you think?" he asked anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito - do I look like a Muggle, Harry?"**

**"Yeah," said Harry, smiling, "very good."**

"And I meant it."

**"Where're Bill, Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" said George, failing to stifle a huge yawn.**

**"Well, they're Apparating, aren't they?" said Mrs Weasley, heaving the large pot over to the table and starting to ladle porridge into bowls. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in."**

"And we couldn't side long why?" Harry cried and collapsed back.

**Harry knew that Apparating was very difficult; it meant disappearing from one place and reappearing almost instantly in another.**

**"So they're still in bed?" said Fred grumpily, pulling his bowl of porridge towards him. "Why can't we Apparate, too?" **

**"Because you're not of age and you haven't got your test," snapped Mrs Weasley. **

"And you call yourself a good mother." Someone hissed.

**"And where have those girls got to?"**

**She bustled out of the kitchen and they heard her climbing the stairs. **

**"You have to pass a test to Apparate?" Harry asked.**

"If there is a muggles study lesson there should also be a wizarding studies one." Harry groaned.

**"Oh yes," said Mr Weasley, tucking the tickets safely into the back pocket of his jeans. "The Department of Magical Transportation had to fine a couple of people the other day for Apparating without a licence. It's not easy, Apparition, and when it's not done properly it can lead to nasty complications. This pair I'm talking about went and splinched themselves." **

The hall minus a few of the younger ones flinched.

Everyone around the table except Harry winced.

**"Er - splinched?" said Harry. **

**"They left half of themselves behind," **

Now the younger ones followed the others example.

**said Mr Weasley, now spooning large amounts of treacle onto his porridge. "So, of course, they were stuck. Couldn't move either way. Had to wait for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad to sort them out. Meant a fair old bit of paperwork, I can tell you, what with the Muggles who spotted the body parts they'd left behind ..."**

**Harry had a sudden vision of a pair of legs and an eyeball lying abandoned on the pavement in Privet Drive.**

It either made you laugh or feel sick.

"Were they OK?" he asked, startled.

**"Oh yes," said Mr Weasley matter-of-factly. "But they got a heavy fine, and I don't think they'll be trying it again in a hurry. You don't mess around with Apparition. There are plenty of adult wizards who don't bother with it. Prefer brooms - slower, but safer." **

"Why does that stuff not apply with the order?" Hermione muttered.

"Because they have a very good reason for learning it and know it." Ashlyn smiled gently.

**"But Bill and Charlie and Percy can all do it?"**

**"Charlie had to take the test twice," said Fred, grinning. "He failed first time, Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?"**

You were either sympathetic or laughing.

**"Yes, well, he passed second time," said Mrs Weasley, marching back into the kitchen amid hearty sniggers.**

**"Percy only passed two weeks ago," said George. "He's been Apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can."**

The third eldest yelped in pain after his head was slapped by his brother's much to the twin's amusement.

**There were footsteps down the passageway and Hermione and Ginny came into the kitchen, both looking pale and drowsy.**

They huffed but after a moment Hermione couldn't fight down the giggles.

**"Why do we have to get up so early?" Ginny said, rubbing her eyes and sitting down at the table.**

**"We've got a bit of a walk," said Mr Weasley.**

**"Walk?" said Harry. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"**

The hall started laughing.

"It's a reasonable question." Ashlyn and Hermione chorused, the human blushing while the Goddess smiled warmly.

**"No, no, that's miles away," said Mr Weasley, smiling. "We only need to walk a short way. **

"SHORT." The ones who had been there shouted much to the halls amusement.

**It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention.**

"More like damn near impossible." Sirius muttered to agreement.

**We have to be very careful about how we travel at times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup -"**

**"George!" said Mr Weasley sharply, and they all jumped.**

**"What?" said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.**

"Well no one believes you even if you are innocent and I could tell." Harry shrugged by means of an explanation.

"**What is that in your pocket?"**

**"Nothing!"**

**"Don't lie to me!"**

**Mrs Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, "Accio!"**

"Oh that pathetic and cruel." Tonks groaned and Molly glared at her only to get a stormy grey one back.

**Several small, brightly coloured objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs Weasley's outstretched hand.**

**"We told you to destroy them!" said Mrs Weasley furiously, holding up what were unmistakably more Ton-Tongue Toffees.**

"Next time place them outside before sneaking away." Lucifer's voice filled their heads and they thought their thanks.

**"We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"**

**It was a very unpleasant scene; the twins had evidently been trying to smuggle as many toffees out of the house as possible,**

And no one could say they blamed them.

**and it was only by using her Summoning Charm that Mrs Weasley managed to find them all.**

**"Accio! Accio! Accio!" she shouted, and toffees zoomed from all sorts of unlikely places, including the lining of George's jacket and the turn-ups of Fred's jeans.**

"Impressive." The Marauders complimented making the twins blush and grin, well you would to.

**"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted at his mother, as she threw the toffees away.**

**"Oh, a fine way to spend six months!" she shrieked. "No wonder you didn't get more OWLs!"**

"So not only did they not get those you throw away hard work that while I may not approve can be funny and shows ingenious work." McGonagall fumed, Molly may be their mother but they were her Lions and she would not let Molly get away with it.

"And It's a dreamers choice, especially without backing!" Molly shouted back, standing.

"And they evidently now have backing with all their new products I've seen, not to mention if anyone could run a joke shop it's those two, if people didn't follow their dreams where would we be." Molly glared and was about to lash out again when Minerva really took her jab. "And unlike you I can see they have talent and actually believe in them." Molly felt like she'd been slapped.

The twins got up and hugged their head of house.

"Thanks Professor." To be honest they were holding back tears.

"Your more than welcome, now go back so we can continue." Minerva smiled as they followed her orders.

**All in all, the atmosphere was not very friendly as they made their departure. Mrs Weasley was still glowering as she kissed Mr Weasley on the cheek, though not nearly as much as the twins, who had each hoisted their rucksacks onto their backs and walked out without a word to her.**

"Don't blame you." Almost every student agreed darkly, there were few who didn't love the twins, they made Hogwarts happier.

**"Well, have a lovely time," said Mrs Weasley, "and behave yourselves," she called after the twins' retreating backs, but they did not look back or answer.**

"And when the twins do that you know you've screwed up." Lee pointed out

**"I'll send Bill, Charlie and Percy along around midday," Mrs Weasley said to Mr Weasley, as he, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny set off across the dark yard after Fred and George.**

**It was chilly and the moon was still out.**

The students, no joke, yelled in fear.

**Only a dull, greenish tinge along the horizon to their right showed that daybreak was drawing closer. **

"Apollo's on his way." Lucifer snickered.

**Harry, having been thinking about thousands of wizards speeding towards the Quidditch World Cup,** **sped up to walk with Mr Weasley.**

"So when your at the Wealsey you ask him about the Wizarding world." Daphne commented.

"At he asks you about the muggle one." Astoria tacked on.

**"So how does everyone get there without all the Muggles noticing?" he asked.**

**"It's been a massive organisational problem," sighed Mr Weasley. "The trouble is, about a hundred thousand wizards turn up to the World Cup, and of course we just haven't got a magical site big enough to accomodate them all.**

"It was horrible." Percy groaned.

**There are places Muggles can't penetrate, but imagine trying to pack a hundred thousand wizards into Diagon Alley or Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.**

People winced at the thought of it.

**So we had to find a nice deserted moor, and set up as many anti-Muggle precautions as possible. The whole Ministry's been working on it for months. Firstly, of course, we have to stagger the arrivals. People with cheaper tickets have to arrive two weeks beforehand.**

"So the ministry can do something right." Harry said throwing his hands up.

"Neither the minister nor Umbrige were involved." Amelia pointed out.

"That explains it." Her niece agreed

**A limited number use Muggle transport, but we can't have too many clogging up the their buses and trains - remember, wizards are coming from all over the world. Some Apparate, of course, but we have to set up safe points for them to appear, well away from Muggles. I believe there's a handy wood they're using as the Apparition point. **

"The location was thought up by Aurous, they use it as training for some of the new recruits." Percy threw in.

**For those who don't want to Apparate, or can't, we use Portkeys. They're objects that are used to transport wizards from one spot to another at a prearranged time. You can do large groups at a time if you need to. There have been two hundred Portkeys placed at strategic points around Britain, and the nearest one to us is up the top of Stoatshead Hill, so that's where we're headed."**

**Mr Weasley pointed ahead of them, where a large black mass rose beyond the village of Ottery St Catchpole.**

"You make it sound like a horror." Padma giggled.

**"What sort of objects are Portkeys?" said Harry curiously.**

**"Well, they can be anything," said Mr Weasley. "Unobtrusive things, obviously, so Muggles don't go picking them up and playing with them ... stuff they'll just think is litter..."**

"But some people pick up litter." Hermione stressed.

"Clogs the environment, drives Pan crazy." Apollo huffed.

"And is appreciated by neither time nor space." Ashlyn shook her head.

**They trudged down the dark, dank lane towards the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village, its inky blackness diluting to deepest blue. **

"It was incredible." Hermione smiled.

"I love sunrise." Her best friend agreed.

"But then you have to wake up." Ron whined.

**Harry's hands and feet were freezing.**

**Mr Weasley kept checking his watch.**

**They didn't have breath to spare for talking as they began to climb Stoatshead Hill, stumbling occasionally in hidden rabbit holes, slipping on thick black tuffets of grass. Each breath Harry took was sharp in his chest, and his legs were starting to seize up when at last his feet found level ground.**

"Okay if the Quidditch players were out of it, that was one heck of a walk." Dean grimaced, it was no secret that the Gryffindor team could literally run around the entire castle without stopping.

**"Whew," panted Mr Weasley, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. "Well, we've made good time - we've got ten minutes..."**

**Hermione came over the crest of the hill last, clutching a stitch in her side.**

She absently rubbed it, man had that hurt.

**"Now we just need the Portkey," said Mr Weasley, replacing his glasses and squinting around at the ground. "It won't be big... come on..."**

**They spread out, searching. They had only been at it for a couple of minutes, however, when a shout rented the still air.**

**"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"**

"Enter Amos." Fred mumbled to his twin.

**Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.**

**"Amos!" said Mr Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them followed.**

**Mr Weasley was shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who was holding a mouldy-looking old boot in his other hand.**

"Eeewww."

"Lavander squeal one more time and we'll use you to test products." That shut her up.

**"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr Weasley. "Works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.**

Several people hissed at that department, everyone knew it was full of biased gits.

**And I think you know his son, Cedric?"**

**Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen. **

"Thanks Harry." He flashed a charming grin.

"Hands off Diggory he's mine."

**He was captain and Seeker of Hufflepuff house Quidditch team at Hogwarts.**

**"Hi," said Cedric, looking around at them all.**

**Everybody said "Hi" back except Fred and George, who merely nodded.**

**They had never quite forgotten Cedric for beating their team, Gryffindor, in the first Quidditch match of the previous year.**

"Couple that with your mum and I'm not surprised." The Hufflepuff grimaced.

**"Long walk, Arthur?" Cedric's father asked.**

**"Not too bad," said Mr Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"**

**"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced?**

Several students froze, not in shock, but in terror.

**I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still ..not complaining... Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons - and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy..." Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around all three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione and Ginny. "All these yours, Arthur?"**

"We looked like Weasley's." Hermione rose an eyebrow and Amos flushed his wife (Vanessa remember) giggled shamelessly.

**"Oh, no, only the redheads," said Mr Weasley, pointing out his children. "This is Hermione, friend of Ron's - and Harry, another friend -"**

**"Merlin's beard," said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry Potter?"**

Vanessa hit him in the back of the head. "Leave the boy be." She muttered, shaking her head.

"Thank you Mrs Diggory."

"It's Vanessa Harry."

**"Er - yeah," said Harry.**

**Harry was used to people looking curiously at him when they met him, used to the way their eyes moved at once to the lightening scar on his forehead, but it always made him feel uncomfortable.**

She batted him again who in turn Gibbs slapped his son who was trying, and failing, to hide a laugh.

**"Ced's talked about you, of course," said Amos Diggory. "Told us all about playing against you last year... I said to him, I said - Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will ... you beat Harry Potter!"**

"Because a dementor made him pass out."Angelina hissed.

"And we all know Ced would have told you." Katie continued.

"So obviously your a pompous ass who doesn't listen." Alica stepped in as any sister would.

**Harry couldn't think of a reply to this, so he remained silent.**

**Fred and George were both scowling again. Cedric looked slightly embarrassed.**

**"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," he muttered. "I told you... there were Dementors…it was an accident..."**

"You see!" The twins called gesturing to the seeker.

**"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" roared Amos genially, slapping his son on his back. "Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman ... but the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh?One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"**

"How good you are at flying has nothing to do with how dementors affect you." Minerva sniffed.

"And you were a Hufflepuff, disgrace." Tonks sniffed, turning away.

**"Must be nearly time," said Mr Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again.**

"Good thinking." Carried on the air.

**"Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"**

**"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets," said Mr Diggory. "There aren't any more of us in the area, are there?"**

**"Not that I know of," said Mr Weasley. "Yes, it's a minute off... we'd better get ready..."**

"Good job you knew that." Aroura smiled.

"Wouldn't want to miss the cup." Septima grinned, yet another Quidditch nut.

**He looked round at Harry and Hermione. "You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do -" With difficulty, owing to the bulky backpacks, the nine of them crowded around the old boot held out by Amos Diggory.**

Many wrinkled noses as you'd expect.

**They all stood there in a tight circle, as a chill breeze swept over the hilltop. Nobody spoke. It suddenly occured to Harry how odd this would look if a Muggle were to walk up here now...**

People imagined it and quite a few burst out laughing.

**nine people, two grown men, clutching a manky old boot in the semi-darkness, waiting... "Three ..." muttered Mr Weasley, one eye still on his watch, "two...one..."**

**It happened immediately: Harry felt as though a hook just behind his navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forwards.**

Harry wrapped his arms around his stomach and shivered, he truly hated portkeys and it seemed Cedric shared that feeling.

**His feet had left the ground; he could feel Ron and Hermione on either side of him, their shoulders banging into his; they were speeding forwards in a howl of wind and swirling colour; his forefinger was stuck to the boot as though it was pulling him magnetically onwards and then -**

**His feet slammed onto the ground; Ron staggered into him and he fell over;**

"Sorry mate."

"No problem."

**the Portkey hit the ground near his head with a heavy thud.**

**Harry looked up. Mr Weasley, Mr Diggory and Cedric were still standing, though looking very windswept; everybody else was on the ground.**

**"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill," said a voice.**

"That's the chapter." Amelia announced. She was about to ask who was next when she saw the look on Harry's face.

"Snakes, they said, Lady Medusa."


	9. A Gorgan and Werewolves

Something jumped through the door way, snarling and spitting, stood on it's back legs, spine arched and strong muscles covered every inch, as did shaggy black fur as the wolf head snarled, he stood six feet tall. Several like this werewolf growled, entering the hall and behind them all an elegant figure in a fine black chiton, a veil draped over her head and face so it reached the floor glided over the cold stones.

"Well isn't this delightful." Her voice was velvety as she spoke over wolf howls. "Do calm yourself Lycoan, you will soon taste human meat again." She laughed softly, pulling the veil up.

"Don't look." Hermione's voice screamed and everyone did as told. Hermione transfigured a mirror and pushed it gently into Ashlyn's hand, the Goddess looked in the mirror and focused, ignoring the horrifying image that was the Gorgon Medusa.

Carefully she produced a fire ball in her hand and threw it.

The women screeched in horror and pain but soon was gone but even with open eyes, non could move, the werewolves had moved around the room and Apollo cursed his father for creating them, he should never have turned the king of Arcadia into this, Lycaon should have been sent to the fields of punishment.

One of them lifted it's head, ready to take out Hermione's jugular and two other grabbed Fred and George, Ashlyn and Apollo lost control and sent out waves of pure power, driving the mongrels away with sickening cracks.

One lunged forward but a silver sword entered it's heart and the creature dissolved to dust.

Gabriel was viscous but quick, every strike aimed for a swift kill and every one of them met the same fate until only Lycaon remained.

Gabriel was clad in only black leather, stalking forward, more of a wolf than the one in front of her could ever hope to be. It's black eyes stayed fixed on the sword she carried. It was nothing but pure silver but it seemed a shadow of power and death hung around the otherwise unimpressive blade.

Gabriel grinned and no one could tell why, until a pained howl ripped through the hall, a matching blade sticking through the creatures body. As it disintegrated all eyes caught on Michael, he tossed another weapon to Lucifer who nodded in gratitude, without one the monsters wouldn't stay in Tartarus and it was a bit pointless. The two recently arrived angels were gone just as quickly and Dumbledore dismissed everyone until tomorrow.

* * *

Hermione was crying, sobbing was a better way to describe it, she had been so scared, she could have been killed and there was nothing she could do. She'd frozen in place and if it hadn't been for the gods she wouldn't be here.

Arms pulled her into a hug and she heard Ashlyn shush her gently.

"There is nothing wrong with what you did and what happened, if you hadn't thought to give me that mirror Medusa could have easily killed us because it was me killing her that signalled the angels."

Hermione looked up and smiled softly.

"Now come on, I'm sure you friends are worried."

* * *

When they returned to the common room, Ashlyn had thought it safer to return Hermione herself, they saw the twins.

The two red-heads were asleep on the sofa, tear tracks on their cheeks, one hand laced with the others between them, Harry a silent guardian over them. Ashlyn smiled and with a quick snap of her fingers a chair appeared.

Sitting she combed her fingers through Fred's red locks and Harry imitated her actions with a soft smile at his brothers.


	10. Bagman and Crouch

The very shaken up students all trooped into the hall. After a subdued breakfast Ashlyn took the book.

**CHAPTER 7 - BAGMAN AND CROUCH **Her voice echoed across the almost silent hall but with each word the tense atmosphere eased.

**Harry disentangled himself from Ron and got to his feet. They had arrived on what appeared to be a deserted stretch of misty moor. In front of them was a pair of tired and grumpy-looking wizards, **

While people expected comments, non came, it was obvious last night wouldn't be easily forgotten, one way or another they viewed a slaughter even if it saved their lives.

**One of whom was holding a large gold watch, the other a thick roll of parchment and a quill. Both were dressed as Muggles, though very inexpertly; **

That peeked a few interests.

**The man with the watch wore a tweed suit with thigh-length galoshes; his colleague, a kilt and a poncho. **

The tense atmosphere was gone as everyone exploded into laughter

**"Morning, Basil," said Mr Weasley, picking up the boot and handing it to the kilted wizard, who threw it into a large box of used Portkeys beside him; Harry could see an old newspaper, and empty drinks can and a punctured football.**

**"Hello there, Arthur," said Basil wearily. "Not on duty, eh? It's all right for some... we've been here all night... **

The winces were audible.

**You'd better get out of the way; we've got a big party coming in from the Black Forest at five fifteen. Hang on, I'll find your campsite... Weasley... Weasley..." **

**He consulted his parchment list. "About a quarter of a mile's walk**

"More walking!" Colin buried his head in his arms.

**over there, first field you come to. Site managers called Mr Roberts. Diggory...second field... ask for Mr Payne."**

"They seem to like you more Mr Weasley." Angelina commented.

**"Thanks, Basil," said Mr Weasley, and he beckoned everyone to follow him. **

**They set off across the deserted moor, unable to make out much through the mist. After about twenty minutes, a small stone cottage next to a gate swam into view. Beyond it, Harry could just make out the ghostly shapes of hundreds and hundreds of tents, rising up the gentle slope of a large field towards a dark wood on the horizon. **

People who had been there stared at him, how did he see that stuff.

**They said goodbye to the Diggorys, and approached the cottage door. **

**A man was standing in the doorway, looking out at the tents. Harry knew at a glance that this was the only real Muggle for several acres.**

"Not hard to tell is it." Hermione commented lightly.

**When he heard footsteps, he turned his head to look at them. **

**"Morning!" said Mr Weasley brightly. **

"Brightly, that early in a morning?" Dean and several others look horrified.

**"Morning," said the Muggle. **

**"Would you be Mr Roberts?" **

**"Aye, I would," said Mr Roberts. "And who're you?"**

**"Weasley - two tents, booked a couple of days ago?" **

**"Aye," said Mr Roberts, consulting a list tacked to the door. "You've got a space up by the Wood there. Just the one night?" **

"What if the cup had gone on longer than a night?" Dennis piped up.

"Magic is a wondrous thing." Dumbledore smiled.

**"That's it," said Mr Weasley. **

**"You'll be paying now, then?" said Mr Roberts. **

**"Ah - right - certainly -" said Mr Weasley. **

"And here it comes." Dean groaned.

"The old muggle money is complicated." Harry threw in.

"When it's decimalised." Justine added.

"And the value is on the money." Hermione finished shaking her head.

**He retreated a short distance from the cottage and beckoned Harry towards him. "Help me, Harry," he muttered, pulling a roll of Muggle money from his pocket and starting to peel the notes apart. "This one's a - a - a ten? Ah yes, I can see the little number on it now ... so this is a five?" **

**"A twenty," Harry corrected him in an undertone, uncomfortably aware of Mr Roberts trying to catch every word. **

"Nosey." Someone hissed.

**"Ah yes, so it is ... I don't know, these little bits of paper ..." **

**"You foreign?" said Mr Roberts, as Mr Weasley returned with the correct notes. **

"Reasonable thought." Michael C whispered to Anthony.

**"Foreign?" repeated Mr Weasley, puzzled. **

**"You're not the first one who's had trouble with money," said Mr Roberts, scrutinizing Mr Weasley closely. "I had two try and pay me with great gold coins the size of hubcaps ten minutes ago." **

"Idiots." Half the hall erupted.

**"Did you really?" said Mr Weasley nervously. **

**Mr Roberts rummaged around in his tin for some change. **

**"Never been this crowded," he said suddenly, looking out over the misty fields again. "Hundreds of pre-bookings. People usually just turn up..."**

"It's not surprising he was noticing something." Draco muttered.

**"Is that right?" said Mr Weasley, his hand held out for his change, but Mr Roberts didn't give it to him. **

**"Aye," he said thoughtfully. "People from all over. Loads of foreigners. And not just foreigners. Weirdoes, you know?** **There's a bloke walking round in a kilt and a poncho."**

The muggle raised and born all snorted, it was just to good.

**"Shouldn't he?" said Mr Weasley anxiously.**

**"It's like some sort of ... I dunno ... like some sort of rally," said Mr Roberts. "They all seem to know each other. Like a big party." **

"Smart." Terry hummed.

**At that moment, a wizard in plus-fours appeared out of thin air next to Mr Roberts's front door.**

**"Obliviate!" he said sharply, pointing his wand at Mr Roberts. **

**Instantly, Mr Roberts's eyes slid out of focus, his brows unknotted, and a look of dreamy unconcern fell over his face. Harry recognized the symptoms of one who had just had his memory modified. **

"You shouldn't now." Molly huffed only to be glared at by the Black sisters.

"Molly Harry is mine and Remus' responsibility so could you refrain from commenting, I would hate to do something we'd all regret." Sirius said placidly but you could, for once, tell he was a pureblood.

**"A map of the campsite for you," Mr Roberts said placidly to Mr Weasley. "And your change." **

**"Thanks very much," said Mr Weasley. **

**The wizard in plus-fours accompanied them towards the gate to the campsite. He looked exhausted; his chin was blue with stubble and there were deep purple shadows under his eyes.**

"Poor bloke."

**Once out of earshot of Mr Roberts, he muttered to Mr Weasley, "Been having a lot of trouble with him. Needs a Memory Charm ten times a day to keep him happy. And Ludo Bagman's not helping. Trotting around talking about Bludgers and Quaffles at the top of his voice, not a worry about anti-Muggle security. **

Fred and George hissed while Harry glared, his eyes just visible over his knees and under his hood, it was impossibly cute.

**Blimey, I'll be glad when this is over. See you later, Arthur." **

**He Disapparated. **

**"I thought Bagman was Head of Magical Games and Sports?" said Ginny, looking surprised. "He should know better than to talk about Bludgers near Muggles, shouldn't he?"**

"Just because he'd the head of a department, doesn't mean he has brains." Amelia said with a shiver, remembering all non to nice head of department meetings with him.

**"He should," said Mr Weasley, smiling, and leading them through the gates into the campsite, "but Ludo's always been a bit ... well ... lax about security. You couldn't wish for a more enthusiastic Head of the Sports Department, though. **

"Yes but enthusiasm, isn't all you need." The head of the DMLE said with a glare at the minister.

**He played Quidditch for England himself, you know. And he was the best Beater the Wimbourne Wasps ever had." **

**They trudged up the misty field between long rows of tents. Most of them looked almost ordinary; their owners had clearly tried to make them as Muggle-like as possible, but had slipped up by adding chimneys, or bell-pulls, or weather-vanes. **

Once again there was laughter from those in the know.

**However, here and there was a tent so obviously magical that Harry could hardly be surprised that Mr Roberts was getting suspicious. **

**Halfway up the field stood an extravagant confection of striped silk like a miniature palace, with several live peacocks tethered at the entrance. **

"That was ours." Draco told them.

"Yes Lucius thinks Peacocks show wealth and power." Narcissa rolled her eyes.

**A little further on they passed a tent that had three floors and several turrets; and a short way beyond that was a tent which had a front garden attached, complete with birdbath, sundial and fountain. **

Susan let out a long, low whistle.

**"Always the same," said Mr Weasley, smiling, "we can't resist showing off when we get together. **

And now the muggle raised rolled their eyes.

**Ah, here we are, look, this is us." **

**They had reached the very edge of the wood at the top of the field, and here was an empty space, with a small sign hammered into the ground that read "Weezly".**

Ashlyn chocked on a laugh. "Spelt W-E-E-Z-L-Y." A few in the hall snorted while others bit that laugh back.

**"Couldn't have a better spot!" said Mr Weasley happily. "The pitch is just on the other side of the wood there, we're as close as we could be." **

**He hoisted his backpack from his shoulders. "Right," he said excitedly, "no magic allowed, strictly speaking, not when we're out in these numbers on Muggle land. We'll be putting these tents up by hand! Shouldn't be too difficult ... Muggles do it all the time ... **

"Doesn't mean a thing, Gabriel dragged me camping once, if she hadn't know we'd have been there a while." Lucifer piped up.

"Agreed." Ashlyn smiled.

**here, Harry, where do you reckon we should start?" **

**Harry had never been camping in his life; **

**The Dursleys had never taken him on any kind of holiday, preferring to leave him with Mrs Figg, an old neighbour. **

I'll leave you to guess the reaction to that.

**However, he and Hermione worked out where most of the poles and pegs should go, and though Mr Weasley was more a hindrance then a help, because he got thoroughly over-excited when it came to using a mallet, they finally managed to erect a pair of shabby two-man tents. **

"Two men?" A little first year asked confused.

**All of them stood back to admire their handiwork. Nobody looking at these tents would guess they belonged to wizards, Harry thought, but the trouble was that once Bill, Charlie and Percy arrived, they would be a party of ten. Hermione seemed to have spotted this problem, too; she gave Harry a quizzical look as Mr Weasley dropped to his hands and knees and entered the first tent. **

"Well, we can't be blamed." She shrugged and he nodded.

**"We'll be a bit cramped," he called, "but I think we'll all squeeze in. Come and have a look." **

**Harry bent down, ducked under the tent flap, and felt his jaw drop. **

"Your not the only one." Dean and Hermione agreed.

**He had walked into what looked like an old-fashioned, three-roomed flat, complete with bathroom and kitchen. Oddly enough, it was furnished in exactly the same sort of style as Mrs Figg's; there were crocheted covers on the mismatched chairs, and a strong smell of cats. **

"Nice." Remus wrinkled his nose while Sirius looked like he might gag.

**"Well, it's not for long," said Mr Weasley, mopping his bald patch with a handkerchief and peering in at the four bunk beds that stood in the bedroom. "I borrowed this from Perkins at the office. Doesn't camp much any more, poor fellow, he's got lumbago." **

**He picked up the dusty kettle and peered inside it. "We'll need water ..." **

**"There's a tap marked on this map the Muggle gave us," said Ron, who had followed Harry inside the tent, and seemed completely unimpressed by its extraordinary inner proportions. **

"That's where growing up in the wizarding world lets you down." Tonks smiled to herself.

**"It's on the other side of the field." **

**"Well, why don't you, Harry and Hermione go and get us some water, then -" Mr Weasley handed over the kettle and a couple of saucepans, "- and the rest of us will get some wood for a fire." **

**"But we've got an oven," said Ron, "why can't we just -?" **

"Because It'll be good for you to experience the muggle world and do a bit of work." Molly told her son, for once people didn't disagree.

**"Ron, anti-Muggle security!" said Mr Weasley, his face shining with anticipation. "When real Muggles camp, they cook on fires outdoors, I've seen them at it!" **

"You just want to camp like a muggle." Andromeda laughed.

**After a quick tour of the girls' tent, which was slightly smaller then the boys', though without the smell of cats, **

**Harry, Ron and Hermione set off across the campsite with the kettle and saucepans. **

**Now, with the sun newly risen and the mist lifting, they could see the city of tents that stretched in every direction. They mad their way slowly through the rows, staring eagerly around. It was only just dawning on Harry how many witches and wizards there must be in the world; he had never really thought much about those in other countries. **

"It's just not the sort of thing that comes up." A few others agreed while Hermione threw her hands in the air making Ashlyn laugh.

**Their fellow campers were starting to wake up. First to stir were the families with small children; Harry had never seen witches and wizards this young before. A tiny boy, no older then two was crouched outside a large pyramid-shaped tent, holding a wand and poking happily at a slug in the grass, which was swelling slowly to the size of a salami. **

"Irresponsible"

"Shut up." Molly recoiled as all the adults and immortals in the group said it, not including Arthur of course.

**As they drew level with him, his mother came hurrying out of the tent. **

**"How many times, Kevin? You don't - touch - Daddy's - wand - yeuch!" **

**She had trodden on the giant slug, which burst. Her scolding carried after them on the still air, mingling with the little boy's yells - "You bust slug! You bust slug!" **

"Aw." A few of the girls cooed while others laughed and Lavender, unsurprisingly, squealed in disgust.

**A short way further on, they saw two little witches, barely older than Kevin, who were riding toy broomsticks which rose only high enough for the girls' toes to skim the dewy grass. A Ministry wizard had already spotted them; as he hurried past Harry, Ron and Hermione, he muttered distractedly, "In broad daylight! Parents having a lie-in, I suppose -" **

"Well you can't blame them, they have to be excited." Pomona shook her head fondly.

**Here and there adult wizards were emerging from their tents and starting to cook breakfast. Some, with furtive looks around them, conjured fires with their wands; others were striking matches with dubious looks on their faces, as though sure this couldn't work.**

"Ah, how little they know of us." Hermione smirked and other muggle raised burst out laughing.

**Three African wizards sat in serious conversation, all of them wearing long white robe and roasting what looked like a rabbit on a bright purple fire, while a group of middle-aged American witches sat gossiping happily beneath a spangled banner stretched between their tents which read: The Salem Witches' Institute. Harry caught snatches of conversation in strange languages from the insides of tents they passed, and though he couldn't understand a single word, the tone of every voice was excited.**

People were starting to get excited to, they wanted to hear about the world cup.

**"Er - is it my eyes, or has everything gone green?" said Ron. **

"No, you found the little people." Lucifer said in an Irish accent making the blond next to him smirk.

**It wasn't just Ron's eyes. They had walked into a patch of tents that were all covered with a thick growth of shamrocks, so that it looked as though small, oddly shaped hillocks had sprouted out of the earth. **

Most of the hall was laughing by know while others cheered for the country, Viktor shook his head.

**Grinning faces could be seen under those which had their flaps open. Then, from behind them, they heard their names. **

**"Harry! Ron! Hermione!" **

**It was Seamus Finnigan, their fellow Gryffindor fourth-year. He was sitting in front of his own shamrock-covered tent, with a sandy-haired woman who had to be his mother, and his best friend, Dean Thomas, also of Gryffindor. **

"So three muggle raised got to go to the cup." A Slytherin said in disgust and was promptly hit by others in his house.

**"Like the decorations?" said Seamus, grinning, when Harry, Ron and Hermione had gone over to say hello. "The Ministry's not too happy." **

**"Ah, why shouldn't we show our colours?" said Mrs Finnigan. **

Cheers of agreement went up at that.

**"You should see what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents. You'll be supporting Ireland, of course?" she added, eyeing Harry, Ron and Hermione beadily. **

**When they had assured her that they were indeed supporting Ireland, they set off again, though, as Ron said, "Like we'd say anything else surrounded by that lot."**

"You might as well offer yourself up to a lynch mob." Lucifer snorted.

**"I wonder what the Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents?" said Hermione.**

**"Let's go and have a look," said Harry, pointing to a large patch of tents up field, where the Bulgarian flag, red, green and white, was fluttering in the breeze. **

A few leaned forward in curiosity.

**The tents here had not been bedecked with plant life, but each and every one of them had the same poster attached to it, a poster of a very surly face with heavy black eyebrows. The picture was of course moving, but all it did was blink and scowl. **

Harry giggled to himself though Krum seemed unaffected.

**"Krum," said Ron quietly. **

**"What?" said Hermione. **

**"Krum!" said Ron. "Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker!" **

More cheers went up with a few playful boos from the Irish.

**"He looks really grumpy," said Hermione, looking around the many Krums blinking and scowling at them. **

**"Really grumpy?" Ron raised his eyes to the heavens. "Who cares what he looks like? He's unbelievable. He's really young, too. Only just eighteen or something. He's a genius, you wait until tonight, you'll see." **

The twins burst out. "Ron your in love." The entire hall fell into raucous laughter, the twins winking at the Greek goddess in the room. When they settled down again Ashlyn continued reading.

**There was already a small queue for the tap at the corner of the field. Harry, Ron and Hermione joined it, right behind a pair of men who were having a heated argument. One of them was a very old wizard who was wearing a long flowery night-gown. **

Snickers from the muggle raised and some others while Hermione fell into a fit of giggles.

**The other was clearly a Ministry wizard; he was holding out a pair of pinstriped trousers and almost crying with exasperation. **

**"Just put them on, Archie, there's a good chap, you can't walk around like that, the Muggle on the gate's already getting suspicious -" **

"So, just get him to stay away from the gate." Someone muttered.

**"I bought this in a Muggle shop," said the old wizard stubbornly. "Muggles wear them." **

**"Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these," said the Ministry wizard, and he brandished the pinstriped trousers. **

**"I'm not putting them on," said old Archie in indignation. **

Ashlyn started to giggle but managed to read the line, just.

**"I like a healthy breeze round my privates, thanks."**

The guys started to laugh as the girls giggled.

**Hermione was overcome with such a strong fit of the giggles at this point that she had to duck out of the queue, and only returned when Archie had collected his water and moved away again. **

A few girls giggled slightly before composing themselves.

**Walking more slowly now, because of the weight of the water, they made their way back through the campsite. Here and there they saw more familiar faces: other Hogwarts students with their families. Oliver Wood, the old captain of Harry's house Quidditch team, who had just left Hogwarts, dragged Harry over to his parents' tent to be introduced, **

"He must have been really proud of you." Theo snickered.

"Babe, shut it." Harry grind.

**and told him excitedly that he had just been signed to the Puddlemere United reserve team. **

**Next they were hailed by Ernie Macmillan, a Hufflepuff fourth-year, and a little further on they saw Cho Chang, a very pretty girl who played Seeker on the Ravenclaw team. **

**She waved and smiled at Harry, who slopped quite a lot of water down his front as he waved back. **

Most of the hall snickered while Cho shot him a flirty grin. Theo responded by pressing his lips to Harry's bringing them into a deep, slow kiss that made the girls swoon or blush.

**More to stop Ron smirking than anything, Harry hurriedly pointed out a large group of teenagers whom he had never seen before. **

**"Who d'you reckon they are?" he said. "They don't go to Hogwarts, do they?" **

**"'Spect they go to some foreign school," said Ron. "I know there are others, never met anyone who went to one though. Bill had a pen-friend at a school in Brazil ... this was years and years ago ... and he wanted to go on an exchange trip but Mum and Dad couldn't afford it. His pen-friend got all offended when he said he wasn't going and sent him a cursed hat. It made his ears shrivel up." **

You had to laugh, no matter how harsh it seemed, you had to.

**Harry laughed, but didn't voice the amazement he felt at hearing about other wizarding schools. He supposed, now he saw representatives of so many nationalities in the campsite, that he had been stupid never to realize that Hogwarts couldn't be the only one. **

"Not stupid, like you said it's just not something you think about." Hannah shrugged.

**He glanced at Hermione, who looked utterly unsurprised by the information. No doubt she had run across the news about other wizarding schools in some book or other. **

"Bookworm." A few muttered.

"So's Athena but you wouldn't say that to a Goddess." Ashlyn pointed out and they shut up.

**"You've been ages," said George, when they finally got back to the Weasleys' tents. **

**"Met a few people," said Ron, setting the water down. "You not got the fire started yet?"**

**"Dad's having fun with the matches," said Fred. **

"I bet he is." Tonks smiled.

**Mr Weasley was having no success at all in lighting the fire, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Splintered matches littered the ground around him, but he looked as though he was having the time of his life. **

People laughed good naturedly, they all knew what Mr Weasley was like.

**"Oops!" he said, as he managed to light a match, and promptly dropped it in surprise. **

**"Come here, Mr Weasley," said Hermione kindly, taking the box from him, and starting to show him how to do it properly. **

A few look curious as to how matches worked so Lucifer conjured some and chucked the box to Harry who lit one with ease before slightly parting his lips and blowing it out.

**At last, they got the fire lit, though it was at least another hour before it was hot enough to cook anything. There was plenty to watch while they waited, however. Their tent seemed to be pitched right along a thoroughfare to the pitch, and Ministry members kept hurrying up and down it, greeting Mr Weasley cordially as they passed. Mr Weasley kept up a running commentary, mainly for Harry and Hermione's benefit; his own children knew too much about the Ministry to be greatly interested. **

"It was pretty interesting." Hermione agreed though Harry wasn't listening as he gently kissed his boyfriend the two of them speaking quietly with each other.

**"That was Cuthbert Mockridge, Head of the Goblin Liaison Office ... here comes Gilbert Wimple, he's with the Committee on Experimental Charms, he's had those horns for a while now ... **

A few snorts could be heard while Molly glared pointedly at the twins.

**Hello, Arnie ... Arnold Peasegood, he's an Obliviator - member of the Accidental Magical Reverse Squad, you know ... and that's Bode and Croaker ... they're Unspeakables ..." **

**"They're what?" **

**"From the Department of Mysteries, top-secret, no idea what they get up to ..." **

"Next to nobody does." Rolanda spoke up.

**At last, the fire was ready, and they had just started cooking eggs and sausages when Bill, Charlie and Percy came strolling out of the woods towards them. **

**"Just Apparated, Dad," said Percy loudly. **

"So the one who's obsessed with the rules is talking about magic in a muggle area?" Daphne said in disbelief.

**"Ah, excellent, lunch!" **

**They were halfway through their plates of sausages and eggs when Mr Weasley jumped up to his feet, waving and grinning at a man who was striding towards them. "Aha!" he said. "The man of the moment! Ludo!" **

The twins glared at the book, then quickly stopped when they made Ashlyn uncomfortable.

**Ludo Bagman was easily the most noticeable person Harry had seen so far, even including old Archie in his flowered nightdress. He was wearing long Quidditch robes in thick horizontal stripes of bright yellow and black. An enormous picture of a wasp was splashed across his chest. **

Nearly every person face palmed.

**He had the look of a powerfully built man gone slightly to seed; the robes were stretched tightly across a large belly he surely had not had in the days when he had played Quidditch for England. **

"I don't see why the players let themselves go like that." Pavarti shook her head.

**His nose was squashed (probably broken by a stray Bludger, Harry thought), but his round blue eyes, short blond hair and rosy complexion made him look like a very overgrown schoolboy. **

"He acts like one to." Amelia sighed.

**"Ahoy there!" Bagman called happily. He was walking as though he had springs attached to the balls of his feet, and was plainly in a state of wild excitement. **

**"Arthur, old man," he puffed, as he reached the campfire, "what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming ... and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements ... not much for me to do!" **

"Oh there was plenty." The ministry workers said with glares, though at nothing in particular.

**Behind him, a group of haggard-looking Ministry wizards rushed past, pointing at the distant evidence of some sort of a magical fire which was sending violet sparks twenty feet into the air. **

**Percy hurried forwards with his hand outstretched. **

**Apparently his disapproval of the way Ludo Bagman ran his department did not prevent him wanting to make a good impression. **

"Ass."

"Kiss up." And I won't include the rest.

**"Ah - yes," said Mr Weasley, grinning, "this is my son, Percy, he's just started at the Ministry - and this is Fred - no, George, sorry - that's Fred - Bill, Charlie, Ron - my daughter, Ginny - and Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter." **

**Bagman did the smallest of double-takes when he heard Harry's name, and his eyes performed the familiar flick upwards to the scar on Harry's forehead. **

Harry started to growl but it turned into a soft purr when Theo gently kissed his neck, sucking lightly on the pulse point.

**"Everyone," Mr Weasley continued, "this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it's thanks to him we've got such good tickets -" **

**Bagman beamed and waved his hand as if to say it had been nothing. **

**"Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?" he said eagerly, jingling what seemed to be a large amount of gold in the pockets of his yellow and black robes. **

"You shouldn't bet in front of children." Molly scolded and said children, snorted, like they didn't place bets on things all the time.

**"I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first - I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years - and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a week-long match." **

"**Oh ... go on, then," said Mr Weasley. "Let's see ... a Galleon on Ireland to win?" **

Arthur didn't even seem to notice Molly's glare.

**"A Galleon?" Ludo Bagman looked slightly disappointed, but recovered himself. "Very well, very well ... any other takers?" **

**"They're a bit young to be gambling," said Mr Weasley. "Molly wouldn't like -" **

"Like we care." They shot back.

**"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," said Fred, as he and George quickly pooled all their money, **

**"That Ireland win - but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. **

Jaws dropped as people turned to the twins.

"What, we only went by statistics." They shrugged.

**Oh, and we'll throw in a fake wand." **

**"You don't want to be showing Mr Bagman rubbish like that -" Percy hissed, but Bagman didn't seem to think that wand was rubbish at all; on the contrary, his boyish face shone with excitement as he took it from Fred, and when the wand gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, Bagman roared with laughter. **

Quiet a few people grinned, those things were amazing.

**"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!" **

**Percy froze in an attitude of stunned disapproval. "Boys," said Mr Weasley under his breath, "I don't want you betting ... that's all your savings ... your mother -" **

"He's got a point, no matter how sure you are always hold something back." Sirius told them but it was kind of like him being a big brother rather than a parent.

**"Don't be such a spoilsport, Arthur!" boomed Ludo Bagman, rattling his pockets excitedly. "They're old enough to know what they want! **

**You reckon Ireland will win but Krum will get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance ... I'll give you excellent odds on that one ... we'll add five Galleons for the wand, then, shall we..." **

"He's going to regret that." Someone snickered.

**Mr Weasley looked on helplessly as Ludo Bagman whipped out a notebook and quill and began jotting down he twins' names. **

**"Cheers," said George, taking the slip of parchment Bagman handed him and tucking it away into the front of his robes. **

**Bagman turned most cheerfully back to Mr Weasley. "Couldn't do me a brew, I suppose? I'm keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch. **

Sirius' and several others eyes hardened at his name.

**My Bulgarian opposite number's making difficulties and I can't understand a word he's saying. Barty'll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages." **

**"Mr Crouch?" said Percy, suddenly abandoning his look of poker-stiff disapproval and positively writhing with excitement. **

Pathetic was the word on everyone's lips.

**"He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll ..." **

**"Anyone can speak Troll," said Fred dismissively, "all you have to do is point and grunt." **

The hall laughed as a smirking Dumbledore said. "It's a little more than that."

**Percy threw Fred an extremely nasty look, and stoked the fire vigorously to bring the kettle back to the boil. **

**"Any news of Bertha Jorkins yet, Ludo?" Mr Weasley asked, as Bagman settled himself down on the grass beside them all. **

Everyone stiffened as the happy atmosphere dissolved.

**"Not a dicky bird," said Bagman comfortably. "But she'll turn up. Poor old Bertha ... memory like a leaky cauldron and no sense of direction. **

"She wasn't like that in school." The marauders spoke in time.

**Lost, you take my word for it. She'll wander back into the office some time in October, thinking its still July." **

**"You don't think it might be time to send someone to look for her?" Mr Weasley suggested tentatively, as Percy handed Bagman his tea. **

"Anyone with half a brain would." Apollo muttered.

"Exactly." Lucifer added making a few people snort.

**"Barty Crouch keeps saying that," said Bagman, his round eyes widening innocently, "but we really can't spare anyone at the moment. Oh - talk of the devil! Barty!" **

**A wizard had just Apparated at their fireside, and he could not have made more of a contrast with Ludo Bagman, sprawled on the grass in his old Wasp robes. **

**Barty Crouch was a stiff, upright, elderly man, dressed in an impeccably crisp suit and tie. The parting in his short grey hair was almost unnaturally straight and his narrow toothbrush moustache looked as though he trimmed it using a slide-rule. **

"It wouldn't surprise me." A few muttered while the Gryffindors shivered at the thought of someone like that.

**His shoes were very highly polished. Harry could see at once why Percy idolized him. Percy was a great believer in rigidly following rules, and Mr Crouch had complied with the rule about Muggle dressing so thoroughly that he could have passed as a bank manager; Harry doubted even Uncle Vernon would have spotted him for what he really was. **

**"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty," said Ludo brightly, patting the ground beside him. **

**"No, thank you, Ludo," said Crouch, and there was a bite of impatience in his voice. **

If you had looked at the hall you would have been severally creeped out by how many simultaneous eye rolls there were.

**"I've been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box." **

**"Oh, is that what they're after?" said Bagman. "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent." **

"They sound nothing alike." Viktor's gruff voice spoke.

**"Mr Crouch!" said Percy breathlessly, sunk into a kind of half bow which made him look like a hunchback. "Would you like a cup of tea?" **

**"Oh," said Mr Crouch, looking over at Percy in mild surprise. "Yes - thank you, Weatherby."**

The hall burst out in laughter, a few people rolling across the floor.

**Fred and George choked into their own cups. Percy, very pink around the ears, busied himself with the kettle. **

**"Oh, and I've been wanting a word with you, too, Arthur," said Mr Crouch, his sharp eyes falling upon Mr Weasley. "Ali Bashir's on the warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets." **

Arthur rubbed his temples in annoyance.

**Mr Weasley heaved a deep sigh. "I sent him an owl about that just last week. If I've told him once I've told him a hundred times carpets are defined as a Muggle Artifact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, but will he listen?" **

**"I doubt it," said Mr Crouch, accepting a cup from Percy. "He's desperate to export here." **

"You see how incredible Mr Weasley is." Alica smirked at the minister.

"He's even liked by crouch." Astoria added.

**"Well, they'll never replace brooms in Britain, will they?" said Bagman. **

**"Ali thinks there's a niche in the market for a family vehicle," said Mr Crouch. **

**"I remember my grandfather had an Axminster that could seat twelve - but that was before carpets were banned, of course." He spoke as though he wanted to leave nobody in any doubt that all his ancestors had abided strictly by the law. **

Harry gave a dark chuckle much to peoples surprise, and fear.

**"So, been keeping busy, Barty?" said Bagman breezily. **

**"Fairly," said Mr Crouch dryly. "Organizing Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo." **

"I imagine not." Katie shivered.

**"I expect you'll both be glad when this is all over?" said Mr Weasley. **

**Ludo Bagman looked shocked. "Glad! Don't know when I've had more fun ... still, it's not as though we haven't got anything to look forward to, eh, Barty? Eh? Plenty left to organize, eh?" **

"He's as bad as Percy." Bill sighed.

"Yeah, but Percy was doing it to be a git." Charlie whispered to his brother.

**Mr Crouch raised his eyebrows at Bagman. "We agreed not to make the announcement until all details -" **

**"Oh, details!" said Bagman, waving the word away like a cloud of midges. "They've signed, haven't they? They've agreed, haven't they? I bet you anything these kids'll know soon enough anyway. I mean, it's happening at Hogwarts -" **

"He's worse then Hagrid." McGonagall shook her head.

**"Ludo, we need to meet the Bulgarians, you know," said Mr Crouch sharply, cutting Bagman's remarks short. **

**"Thank you for the tea, Weatherby." **

More, unrepressed snorts.

**He pushed his un-drunk tea back at Percy and waited for Ludo to rise; Bagman struggled to his feet again, swigging down the last of his tea, the gold in his pockets clinking merrily. **

**"See you all later!" he said. "You'll be up in the Top Box with me - I'm commentating!" He waved, Barty Crouch nodded curtly, and both of them Disapparated. **

"Top box." A few said faintly.

**"What's happening at Hogwarts, Dad?" said Fred at once. "What were they talking about?" **

**"You'll find out soon enough," said Mr Weasley, smiling. **

His younger children glared playfully.

**"Its classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to release it," said Percy stiffly. "Mr Crouch was quite right not to disclose it." **

**"Oh, shut up, Weatherby," said Fred. **

The hall was laughing again.

**A sense of excitement rose like a palpable cloud over the campsite as the afternoon wore on. By dusk, the still summer air itself seemed to be quivering with anticipation, and as darkness spread like a curtain over the thousands of waiting wizards, the last vestiges of pretence disappeared; the Ministry seemed to have bowed to the inevitable, and stopped fighting the signs of blatant magic now breaking out everywhere. **

"They were to excited themselves." Amelia informed.

**Salesmen were Apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts full of extraordinary merchandise. There were luminous rosettes - green for Ireland, red for Bulgaria - which were squealing the names of the players, pointed green hats bedecked with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves adorned with lions that really roared, **

"They look like Gryffindor ones." Someone commented absently.

**flags from both countries which played their national anthems as they were waved; there were tiny models of Firebolts, which really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves. **

A few more snorts sounded.

**"Been saving my pocket money all summer for this," Ron told Harry, as they and Hermione strolled through the salesmen, buying souvenirs. Though Ron purchased himself a dancing-shamrock hat and a large green rosette, he also bought a small figure of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker.**

**The miniature Krum walked backwards and forwards over Ron's hand, scowling up at the green rosette above him. **

"Not the best combination is it." Blaise commented.

**"Wow, look at these!" said Harry, hurrying over to a cart piled high with what looked like brass binoculars, except that they were covered in all sorts of weird knobs and dials. **

**"Omnioculars," said the sales-wizard eagerly. "You can replay action ... slow everything down ... and they flash up a play-by-play breakdown if you need it. Bargain - ten Galleons each." **

"So cool." People mutter, expensive as well but cool.

**"Wish I hadn't bought this now," said Ron, gesturing at his dancing shamrock hat and gazing longingly at the Omnioculars. **

**"Three pairs," said Harry firmly to the wizard. **

**"No - don't bother," said Ron, going red. He was always touchy about the fact that Harry, who had inherited a small fortune from his parents, had much more money than he did.**

"That's pathetic." Alica muttered, who had several time been given something from Harry because her family was anything but well off.

**"You won't be getting anything for Christmas," Harry told him, thrusting Omnioculars into his and Hermione's hands. "For about ten years, mind." **

**"Fair enough," said Ron, grinning. **

**"Oooh, thanks, Harry," said Hermione. "And I'll get us some programmes, look -" **

**Their money bags considerably lighter, they went back to the tents. Bill, Charlie and Ginny were all sporting green rosettes too, and Mr Weasley was carrying an Irish flag. **

"Cool." A couple of people grinned.

**Fred and George had no souvenirs as they had given Bagman all their gold. **

**And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and, at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the pitch. **

**"It's time!" said Mr Weasley, looking as excited as any of them. **

**"Come on, let's go!" **

Ashlyn announced the end of the chapter and passed the book to a bouncing Lee.


	11. The Quidditch World Cup

**A/N: I would like to suggest to you all that you look up stories, including a reading series by ShineBrightGranger, a friend and very good writer. **

**THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP **Lee's voice was drowned out by the predictable cheers.

**Clutching their purchases, Mr. Weasley in the lead, they all hurried into the wood, following the lantern-lit trail. They could hear the sounds of thousands of people moving around them, shouts and laughter, snatches of singing. **

A few of the Irish in the hall started up with an old Gaelic song and a few others joined in until McGonagall snapped at them.

**The atmosphere of feverish excitement was highly infectious; Harry couldn't stop grinning.**  
**They walked through the wood for twenty minutes,** **talking and joking, until at last they emerged on the other side, and found themselves in the shadow of a gigantic stadium. Though Harry could see only a fraction of the immense gold walls surrounding the pitch, he could tell that ten cathedrals would fit comfortably inside it. **

"How do you work that out?" Someone called in disbelief.

"He's always been able to do that sort of thing, he's good at visualising." Hermione said for her friend, settling back into a comfortable roll that she knew when to step in and when to stand back.

**"Seats a hundred thousand," said Mr. Weasley, spotting the awestruck look on Harry's face. **

"Hundred thousand." Ever and I do mean every muggle raised who hadn't been there shouted.

**"Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle-Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Every time Muggles have got anywhere near here all year, they've suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again**

"That's harsh." Dean said plainly.

"Have you met Gabriel?" Ashlyn asked snickering to her self because, it was a little funny.

**... Bless them," he added fondly, leading the way towards the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by a swarm of shouting witches and wizards**

**"Prime seats!" said the Ministry witch at the entrance, when she checked their tickets. "Top Box! Straight upstairs, Arthur, as high as you can go."**

"You lot are so lucky." The Quidditch fans were drooling.  
**The stairs into the stadium were carpeted in rich purple. They clambered upwards with the rest of the crowd, which slowly filtered away through doors into the stands to their left and right. Mr. Weasley's party kept climbing, and at last they reached the top of the staircase, and found themselves in a small box, set at the highest point of the stadium and situated exactly halfway between the golden goalposts. **

"What is it with Wizards and gold?" Hermione held asked.

"Fuel's the pure-bloods own self importance." Apollo answered.

"Like with most Gods, my father included." Lucifer tacked on.

A few of the said pure-bloods tried to protest but failed miserably.

**About twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in two rows here, and Harry, filing into the front seats with the Weasleys, looked down upon a scene the like of which he could never have imagined.**

"Now that is saying a lot." The twins chorused.

**A hundred thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats which rose in levels around the long oval pitch. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light that seemed to come from the stadium itself. **

**The pitch looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position. **

The grins in the hall stretched ear to ear.

**At either end of the pitch stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them, almost at Harry's eye level, was a gigantic blackboard. Gold writing kept dashing across it as though an invisible giant's hand was scrawling upon it and then wiping it off again;**

The sound of feet tapping was a quiet din through the stone hall.

**watching it, Harry saw that it was flashing advertisements across the pitch.**

_**The Bluebottle: A Broom for All the Family - safe, reliable and with In-built Anti-Burglar ... Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess-Remover: No Pain, No Stain! ... Gladrags Wizardwear - London, Paris, Hogsmeade ...**_

**Harry tore his eyes away from the sign and looked over his shoulder to see who else was sharing the box with them. So far it was empty, except for a tiny creature sitting in the second from last seat at the end of the row behind them.**

"What would a creature be doing there?" Pansy sneered but she suddenly yelped when her skin went pink.

"Ashlyn." Apollo was laughing his ass off.

"You know I love a good prank." She smirked at the sun god but was blushing as both he and the twins grinned at her.

**The creature, whose legs were so short they stuck out in front of it on the chair, was wearing a tea-towel draped like a toga, and it had its face hidden in its hands. Yet those long, bat-like ears were oddly familiar... **

**"**_**Dobby**_**?" said Harry incredulously.**

"Not every house-elf is that one."Smith sneered but was slapped.

"Gods, how did you get into Hufflepuff?" Susan rolled her eyes while Terry said.

"When you see something familiar it's normal to connect it to someone you know."

**The tiny creature looked up and parted its fingers, revealing enormous brown eyes and a nose the exact size and shape of a large tomato. **

Hermione made to speak but saw the goddess gently shake her head so she stopped.

**It wasn't Dobby - it was, however, unmistakably a house-elf, as Harry's friend Dobby had been. **

**Harry had set Dobby free from his old owners, the Malfoy family.**

The roof was raised for a few seconds before everyone was under control.

**"Did sir just call me Dobby?" squeaked the elf curiously, from between its fingers. Its voice was higher even than Dobby's had been, a teeny, quivering squeak of a voice, and Harry suspected - though it was very hard to tell with a house-elf - that this one might just be female.**

Andromeda nodded her head. "It's always the voice that gives it away. To us anyway."

**Ron and Hermione spun around in their seats to look. Though they had heard a lot about Dobby from Harry, they had never actually met him. **

**Even Mr. Weasley looked around in interest. **

**"Sorry," Harry told the elf, "I just thought you were someone I knew."**

"At least your polite about it." Narcissa said fondly.

**"But I knows Dobby too, sir!" squeaked the elf.**

"Small world." Fluer said with a furrowed brow.

**She was shielding her face, as though blinded by light, though the Top Box was not brightly lit. "My name is Winky, sir - and you, sir -" her dark brown eyes widened to the size of side plates as they rested upon Harry's scar, "you is surely Harry Potter!" **

"Wait she didn't look at you scar." Bill pointed out.

"It's in there."

**"Yeah, I am," said Harry. **

**"But Dobby talks of you all the time, sir!" she said, lowering her hands very slightly and looking awestruck.**

Harry flushed and hid his face in Theo's neck, making his boyfriend shudder.

**"How is he?" said Harry. "How's freedom suiting him?"**

**"Ah, sir," said Winky, shaking her head, "ah, sir, meaning no disrespect, sir, but I is not sure you did Dobby a favour, sir, when you is setting him free." **

**"Why?" said Harry, taken aback. "What's wrong with him?" **

"I can't believe after everything he did you care." Ginny screamed a very girly scream when she got the same treatment as Pansy then a pillow to the face though no one would own up to it.

**"Freedom is going to Dobby's head, sir," said Winky sadly. "Ideas above his station, sir. Can't get another position, sir."**

**"Why not?" said Harry.**

**Winky lowered her voice by a half octave and whispered, "**_**He is wanting paying for his work, sir.**_**"**

"Listen to her Hermione, see it from their point of view before you decided what is right for them." Theo said gently and she nodded at the Slytherin.

**"Paying?" said Harry blankly. "Well - why shouldn't he be paid?" **

**Winky looked quite horrified at the idea, and closed her fingers slightly so that her face was half-hidden again.**

**"House-elves is not paid, sir!" she said in a muffles squeak. "No, no, no. I says to Dobby, I says, go find yourself a nice family and settle down, Dobby. He is getting up to all sorts of high jinks, sir, what is unbecoming to a house-elf. You goes racketing around like this, Dobby, I says, and next thing I hear you's up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, like some common goblin."**

"I'm sorry but, why do we have control over creatures that are as intelligent or even more so than us?" Dean spoke up.

"Because people fear them so must control them, plus it 'proves' Wizards are at the top of the food chain." Sirius said in an angry tone.

**"Well, it's about time he had a bit of fun," said Harry.**

"I!" Pretty much every Griffin in the hall shouted.

**"House-elves is not supposed to have fun, Harry Potter," said Winky firmly, from behind her hands. "House-elves does what they is told.I is not liking heights at all, Harry Potter -" she glanced towards the edge of the box and gulped, "- but my master sends me to the Top Box and I comes, sir." **

"There is having a house-elf and then there is abusing it." Narcissa growled.

**"Why's he sent you up here, if he knows you don't like heights?" said Harry, frowning. **

"Very good point Harry." Andi agreed.

**"Master - master wants me to save him a seat, Harry Potter, he is very busy," said Winky, tilting her head towards the empty space beside her. "Winky is wishing she is back in master's tent, Harry Potter, but Winky does what she is told, Winky is a good house-elf."**

"She was a very good house-elf." Harry muttered into Theo's neck, smirking internally when the Slytherin shivered.

**She gave the edge of the box another frightened look, and closed her eyes completely again. Harry turned back to the others. **

**"So that's a house-elf?" Ron muttered. "Weird things, aren't they?"**

"That's nice to say when one's right there." Daphne shook her head.

"I though we determined Ron has no tacked?" Alica asked.

"I know but it still amazes me."

**"Dobby was weirder," said Harry, fervently. **

**Ron pulled out his Omnioculars and started testing them, staring down into the crowd on the other side of the stadium.**

**"Wild!" he said, twiddling the replay knob on the side. "I can make that old bloke down there pick his nose again ... and again... and again ..." **

The noises were somewhere between a groan and a laugh.

**Hermione, meanwhile, was skimming eagerly through her velvet-covered programme. "'A display from the team mascots will precede the match'," she read aloud.**

**"Oh, that's always worth watching," said Mr. Weasley. "National teams bring creatures from their native land, to you know, put on a bit of a show."**

Most of the ones who had watched grinned.

**The box filled gradually around them over the next half hour. Mr. Weasley kept shaking hands with people who were obviously very important wizards.**

**Percy jumped to his feet so often that he looked as though he was trying to sit on a hedgehog. **

The Weasley family burst out into hysterics. Not including a sulking Ginny and a disapproving Molly.

**When Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic himself, **

Umbridge puffed up in pride but everyone else remained unaffected.

**arrived, Percy bowed so low that his glasses fell off and shattered. **

No matter how dark he blushed or sank into the sofa it wasn't enough.

**Highly embarrassed, he repaired them with his wand, and thereafter remained in his seat, throwing jealous looks at Harry, whom Cornelius Fudge had greeted like an old friend. **

Okay, so Lions can hiss as well as roar. And they are flipping terrifying when they do it.

**They had met before, and Fudge shook Harry's hand in a fatherly fashion, asked how he was, and introduced him to the wizards on either side of him.**

"Of course, politically how good would it look to seem close to the boy-who-lived." Remus sneered.

**"Harry Potter, you know," he loudly told the Bulgarian Minister, who was wearing splendid robes of black velvet trimmed with gold, and didn't seem to understand a word of English.**

"Key word seem." Harry snickered under his breath.

**"**_**Harry Potter**_ **... oh, come on now, you know who he is... the boy who survived You-Know-Who... you **_**do**_ **know who he is -" **

**The Bulgarian wizard suddenly spotted Harry's scar and started gabbling loudly and excitedly, pointing at it.**

Theo growled and possessively pulled his boyfriend closer, couldn't they get it through their thick heads to leave him alone.

**"Knew we'd get there in the end," said Fudge wearily to Harry. "I'm no great shakes at languages, I need Barty Crouch for this sort of thing. Ah, I see his house-elf's saving him a seat... good job too, these Bulgarian blighters have been trying to cadge all the best places...ah, here's Lucius!" **

"No!" The Griffins scared the other houses yet again by doing it in time, what was with them?

**Harry, Ron and Hermione turned quickly. Edging along the second row to three still-empty seats right behind Mr. Weasley were none other than Dobby the house-elf's old owners - Lucius Malfoy, his son, Draco, and a woman Harry supposed must be Draco's mother.**

**Harry and Draco Malfoy had been enemies ever since their very first journey to Hogwarts. **

"I wouldn't say that." They burst into laughter.

**A pale boy with a pointed face and white-blond hair, Draco greatly resembled his father. His mother was blonde, too; tall and slim, she would have been nice looking if she hadn't been wearing a look that suggested there was a nasty smell under her nose.**

"Sorry Narcissa." Harry said sheepishly but she just waved it away. **  
"Ah, Fudge," said Mr. Malfoy, holding out his hand as he reached the Minister for Magic.**

**"How are you? I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco?" **

**"How do you do, how do you do?" said Fudge, smiling and bowing to Mrs Malfoy. "And allow me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk - Obalonsk - Mr. - well, he's the Bulgarian Minister for Magic, **

"Pa-the-tic." Katie emphasised every syllable.

**and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else - you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"**

"Something like that." Okay if the lions didn't stop that someone was going to have a heart attack or die of fear.

**It was a tense moment. **

**Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy looked at each other and Harry vividly recalled the last time that they had come face to face; **

"I was aware of." Harry tacked in.

**it had been in Flourish and Blotts bookshop, and they had had a fight. **

**Mr. Malfoy's cold grey eyes swept over Mr. Weasley, and then up and down the row. **

**"Good Lord, Arthur," he said softly. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"**

"He actually gets given things in return for kindness that he does out of the good of his heart, something you wouldn't understand." McGonagall said stiffly to many cheers.

**Fudge, who wasn't listening, said, "Lucius has just given a **_**very**_ **generous contribution to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest." **

**"How - how nice," said Mr Weasley, with a very strained smile.**

**Mr. Malfoy's eyes had returned to Hermione, who went slightly pink, but stared determinedly back at him.**

Those heart attacks were getting dangerously close.

**Harry knew exactly what was making Mr. Malfoy's lip curl. The Malfoys prided themselves on being pure-bloods; in other words, they considered anyone of Muggle descent, like Hermione, second-class.**

Glares turned to the high table and the bigots and three house shrunk away from the other, mostly, Theo wasn't letting go of Harry at the minute.

**However, under the gaze of the Minister for Magic, Mr. Malfoy didn't dare say anything. **

**He nodded sneeringly to Mr. Weasley, and continued down the line to his seats. Draco shot Harry, Ron and Hermione one contemptuous look, then settled himself between his mother and father. **

**"Slimy gits," Ron muttered, as he, Harry and Hermione turned to face the pitch again.**

Ron had a look that said 'I regret nothing'

**Next moment, Ludo Bagman had charged into the box. **

**"Everyone ready?" he said, his round face gleaming like a great, excited Edam. "Minister - ready to go?"**

**"Ready when you are, Ludo," said Fudge comfortably.**

They forgot about the scarlet's tendencies and leaned towards Lee and the book.

**Ludo whipped out his wand, directed it at his own throat and said "**_**Sonorus**_**!" and then spoke over the roar of sound that was now filling the packed stadium; his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands:**

Lee took a deep breath grinned and switched on his commentator voice.

**"Ladies and gentlemen... welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"**

The hall shook as the students cheered.

**The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant national anthems to the racket. The huge blackboard opposite them was wiped clear of its last message (**_**Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans - a Risk with Every Mouthful!**_**) **

"So true!" The twins shouted.

**and now showed BULGARIA: ZERO, IRELAND: ZERO.**

**"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce... the Bulgarian Team Mascots!" **

**The right-hand side of the stands, which was a solid block of scarlet, roared its approval.**

**"I wonder what they've brought?" said Mr Weasley, leaning forwards in his seat.**

"Not something good, they're great but man are they dangerous." Harry whined too people's confusion.

**"Aaah!" He suddenly whipped off his glasses and polished them hurriedly on his robes. "**_**Veela!**_**"**

"Why is it things that come up at the beginning of the year always reappear through out it for you?" Anthony said confused.

"He has a guardian angel." Justin shrugged as a reply as Harry just shrugged.

**"What are Veel-?"**

**But a hundred Veela were now gliding onto the pitch, and Harry's question was answered for him. Veela were women... the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen... except that they weren't - they couldn't be - human. **

"You'd be surprised ow many people don't realise that." Fleur informed.

**This puzzled Harry for a moment, while he tried to guess what exactly they could be; what could make their skin shine moon-bright like that, or their white-gold hair fan out behind them without wind...** **but then the music started, and Harry stopped worrying about them not being human - in fact, he stopped worrying about anything at all. **

Theo shrugged and Harry's slightly worried face. "It's understandable."

**The Veela had started to dance, and Harry's mind had gone completely and blissfully blank. All that mattered in the world was that he kept watching the Veela, because if they stopped dancing, terrible things would happen...**

"I feel like an idiot." He muttered, hiding in his boyfriends chest who didn't complain about the excuse to hold him.

**And as the Veela danced faster and faster, wild, half-formed thoughts started chasing through Harry's dazed mind. He wanted to do something very impressive, right now. **

**Jumping from the box into the stadium seemed a good idea...but would it be good enough?**

Many a guy blushed and looked at the ground.

**"Harry, what **_**are**_ **you doing?" said Hermione's voice from a long way off.**

**The music stopped. Harry blinked. He was standing up, and one of his legs was resting on the wall of the box. **

**Next to him, Ron was frozen in an attitude that looked as though he was about to dive from a springboard.**

"You were more dignified then poor Ron." The twins sniggered.

**Angry yells were filling the stadium. The crowd didn't want the Veela to go. Harry was with them; he would, of course, be supporting Bulgaria, and he wondered vaguely why he had a large green shamrock pinned to his chest. **

**Ron, meanwhile, was absent-mindedly shredding the shamrocks on his hat. **

Seamus cried out in indignation only to be hit round the head by Dean.

**Mr Weasley, smiling slightly, leant over to Ron and tugged the hat out of his hands. **

**"You'll be wanting that," he said, "once Ireland have had their say."**

**"Huh?" said Ron, staring open-mouthed at the Veela, who had now lined up along one side of the pitch.**

A few people, mainly girls, smacked their foreheads.

**Hermione made a loud tutting noise. She reached up and pulled Harry back to his seat. **

**"**_**Honestly!**_**" she said.**

"Well that is what they're meant to do." Gabriel appeared, leaning on the sofa behind Ashlyn and Hermione, the former she grinned at.

She was dressed in leather boots, trousers, gloves and boots, so from collar to toe she was covered in the black material, you could just about see a hood resting on her back but what was clear was the blood covering her and the sword at her side.

"Don't worry about me, dealing with a hundred Harpies is just messy." She shrugged.

**"And now," roared Ludo Bagman's voice, "kindly put your wands in the air ... for the Irish National Team Mascots!" **

That Gaelic song was back.

**Next moment, what seemed to be a great green-and-gold comet had come zooming into the stadium. **

Everyone exchanged grins.

**It did one circuit of the stadium, then split into two smaller comets, each hurtling towards goalposts. A rainbow arced suddenly across the pitch, connecting the two balls of light. **

**The crowd "oooohed" and "aaaaahed", as though at a firework display. **

"But it would be one heck of a fire work display." Cedric grinned.

**Now the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to soar over the stands.**

"It was incredible." Someone called, an Scottish lilt to their voice.

**Something like golden rain seemed to be falling from it – **

**"Excellent!" yelled Ron, as the shamrock soared over their heads, and heavy gold coins rained from it, bouncing off their heads and seats. Squinting up at the shamrock, Harry realised that it was actually composed of thousands of tiny bearded men with red waistcoats, each carrying a minute lamp of gold or green. **

"The little people!" Gabriel couldn't help herself as the hall burst into laughter.

**"Leprechauns!" said Mr. Weasley, over the tumultuous applause of the crowd, many of whom were still fighting and rummaging round under their chairs to retrieve the gold.**

**"There you go," Ron yelled happily, stuffing a fistful of gold coins into Harry's hand. "For the Omnioculars! Now you've got to buy me a Christmas present, ha!"**

Ron blushed, he sounded like a brat.

**The great shamrock dissolved, the leprechauns drifted down onto the pitch on the opposite side from the Veela, and settled themselves cross-legged to watch the match.**

**"And now ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome - the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you Dimitrov!"**

Even though it wasn't a match they couldn't help cheer.

**A scarlet-clad figure on a broomstick, moving so fast it was blurred, **

"Like you." The Qudditch players told Harry.

**shot out onto the pitch from an entrance far below, to wild applause from the Bulgarian supporters. **

**"Ivanova!"**

**A second scarlet-robed player zoomed out.**

**"Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaaand – **_**Krum**_**!"**

The cheers were even louder and Krum ducked his head but luckily most people focused on the book.

**"That's him, that's him!" yelled Ron, following Krum with his Omnioculars; Harry quickly focused his own.**

**Viktor Krum was thin, dark and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He looked like an overgrown bird of prey. It was hard to believe he was only eighteen.**

Harry merely burrowed further into his boyfriend.

**"And now, please greet - the Irish National Quidditch Team!" yelled Bagman. "Presenting - Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand – **_**Lynch**_**!"**

The roars were even louder.

**Seven green blurs swept onto the pitch; Harry spun a small dial on the side of his Omnioculars, and slowed the players down enough to read the word "Firebolt" on each of their brooms, and see their names, embroidered in silver upon their backs. **

**"And here all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!" **

"Why Eygpt?"

"Just because he's fair."

**A small and skinny wizard, completely bald but with a moustache to rival Uncle Vernon's, wearing robes of pure gold to match the stadium, strode out onto the pitch. A silver whistle was protruding from under the moustache, and he was carrying a large wooden crate under one arm, his broomstick under the other. Harry spun the speed dial on his Omnioculars back to normal, watching closely **

The hall was on tenter hooks, even the people who had been there.

**as Mostafa mounted his broomstick and kicked the crate open - four balls burst into the air: the scarlet Quaffle, the two black Bludgers and (Harry saw it for the briefest moment, before it sped out of sight) the minuscule, winged, Golden Snitch.**

"You saw it!?" The shouts made Theo glare as he pulled Harry closer and all of them back off.

**With a sharp blast on his whistle, Mostafa shot into the air after the balls.**

**"Theeeeeeeey're OFF!" screamed Bagman. "And it's Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!" **

**It was Quidditch as Harry had never seen it played before. He was pressing his Omnioculars so hard to his eyes that his glasses were cutting into the bridge of his nose. The speed of the players was incredible - the Chasers were throwing the Quaffle to each other so fast that Bagman only had time to say their names. **

"Just like these three will be doing if they get professional training." George jerked his thumbs towards the Gryffindor chasers.

**Harry spun the "slow" dial on the right of his Omnioculars again, **

He hit his head on Theo's shoulder before burrowing into his chest again.

**pressed the "play by play" button on the top and he was immediately watching in slow motion, while glittering purple letters flashed across the lenses, and the noise of the crowd pounded against his eardrums.**

"Talk about sensory overload." Ernie muttered.

**"**_**Hawkshead Attacking Formation" **_**he read, as he watched the three Irish Chasers zoom closely together, Troy in the centre, slightly ahead of Mullet and Moran, bearing down upon the Bulgarians. "**_**Porskoff Ploy**_**" flashed up next, as Troy made as though to dart upwards with the Quaffle, drawing away the Bulgarian Chaser Ivanova, and dropping the Quaffle to Moran. **

The chasers for the Gryffindor team were noting this down while no one else bothered.

**One of the Bulgarian Beaters, Volkov, swung hard at a passing Bludger with his small club, knocking it into Moran's path; Moran ducked to avoid the Bludger and dropped the Quaffle; and Levski, soaring beneath, caught it -**

A few people noticed the Griffin chasers odd behaviour but thought nothing of it.

**"TROY SCORES!" roared Bagman,didn**

**and the stadium shuddered with a roar of applause and cheers. "Ten-zero to Ireland!" **

**"What?" Harry yelled, looking wildly around through his Omnioculars. "But Levski's got the Quaffle!"**

**"Harry, if you're not going to watch at normal speed, you're going to miss things!" shouted Hermione, who was dancing up and down, waving her arms in the air while Troy did a lap of honour of the pitch. **

"That's reserved for who ever scores first." Viktor threw in.

**Harry looked quickly over the top of his Omnioculars, and saw that the leprechauns watching from the side-lines had all risen into the air again, and formed the great glittering shamrock. Across the pitch, the Veela were watching them sulkily.**

"Is their a reason they're like that?" Hermione asked curious.

"Blame me Hermione, blame me." Gabriel said smirking.

**Furious with himself, Harry spun his speed dial back to normal as play resumed. **

"Your cute when your like that." Theo's whisper sent shivers down his spine so he gently kissed the others neck.

**Harry knew enough about Quidditch to see that the Irish players were superb.**

**They worked as a seamless team, appearing to read each other's minds by the way they positioned themselves, **

The beaters and seeker from the original team shot a look at the chasers who stuck their tongues out in sync.

**and the rosette on Harry's chest kept squeaking their names: "**_**Troy - Mullet - Moran**_**!" And within ten minutes, Ireland had scored twice more, bringing their lead to thirty-zero, and causing a thunderous tide of roars and applause from the green-clad supporters.**

**The match became still faster, but more brutal. **

"It's like an up scale Slytherin and Gryffindor match." Astoria laughed.

"But the end would be different." Alert, Alert, step away from the lions, step away from the lions.

**Volkov and Vulchanov, the Bulgarian Beaters, were whacking the Bludgers as fiercely as possible at the Irish Chasers, and were starting to prevent them using some of their best moves; twice they were forced to scatter, and then, finally, Ivanova managed to break through their ranks, dodge the Keeper, Ryan, and score Bulgaria's first goal. **

**"Fingers in your ears!" bellowed Mr. Weasley, as the Veela started to dance in celebration. **

Harry made a face and it was so cute Theo kissed him on the nose.

**Harry screwed up his eyes, too; he wanted to keep his mind on the game.**

**After a few seconds, he chanced a glance at the pitch. The Veela had stopped dancing, and Bulgaria were again in possession of the Quaffle. **

**"Dimitrov! Levski! Dimitrov! Ivanova - oh, I say!" roared Bagman.**

People became alert, well more but also laughed at the voice Lee used.

**One hundred thousand wizards and witches gasped as the two Seekers, Krum and Lynch, plummeted through the centre of the Chasers, so fast that it looked as though they had just jumped from aeroplanes without parachutes. **

"Can't brooms go faster?" Colin piped up.

"No, a fire bolts fastest speed is clocked at 115miles per hour. Terminal velocity which is the max speed someone can get to from falling is 120-125 on average though it depends on your weight." Gabriel filled them in.

**Harry followed their descent through his Omnioculars, squinting to see where the Snitch was – **

**"They're going to crash!" screamed Hermione next to Harry. **

**She was half-right - at the very last second, Viktor Krum pulled out of the dive and spiralled off. Lynch, however, hit the ground with a dull thud that could be heard throughout the stadium. **

"Harry would do better than that."

"Stop it!" The entire hall snapped at the lions.

**A huge groan rose from the Irish seats.**

**"Fool!" moaned Mr Weasley. "Krum was feinting!" **

**"It's time out!" yelled Bagman's voice. "As trained medi-wizards hurry onto the pitch to examine Aidan Lynch!"**

"That's nothing." Harry rolled his eyes.

"It's dangerous." Molly fretted.

"Shut up." The Quidditch fans snapped back.

**"He'll be OK, he only got ploughed!" Charlie said reassuringly to Ginny, who was hanging over the side of the box, looking horror-struck. **

"And you like playing Quidditch." Katie rolled her eyes.

**"Which is what Krum was after, of course..."**

**Harry hastily pressed the "replay" and "play by play" buttons on his Omnioculars, twiddled the speed dial, and put them back up to his eyes.**

**He watched as Krum and Lynch dived again in slow motion. "**_**Wronski Feint - dangerous Seeker diversion**_**" **

"Unless diving is your speciality." Lee and the Twins grinned at Harry who shrugged.

**read the shiny purple lettering across his lenses. He saw Krum's face contorted with concentration as he pulled out of the dive just in time, while Lynch was flattened, and he understood - Krum hadn't seen the Snitch at all, he was just making Lynch copy him.**

**Harry had never seen anyone fly like that; Krum hardly looked as though he was using a broomstick at all; he moved so easily through the air that it looked as though he was unsupported and weightless. **

People cleared their throats and gave him pointed looks. "Shut it." He said firmly, pulling closer to his Slytherin.

**Harry turned his Omnioculars back to normal, and focused them on Krum. He was circling high above Lynch, who was now being revived by mediwizards with cups of potion. Harry, focusing still more closely upon Krum's face, saw his dark eyes darting all over he ground a hundred feet below. **

"Who would think to look at his face?" Ginny said annoyed for some reason.

"A good seeker."Angelina said pointedly.

**He was using the time while Lynch was revived to look for the Snitch without interference.**

**Lynch got to his feet at last, to loud cheers from the green-clad supporters, mounted his Firebolt and kicked back off into the air. His revival seemed to give Ireland new heart. **

**When Mostafa blew his whistle again, the Chasers moved into action with a skill unrivalled by anything Harry had seen so far. **

Krum rubbed his temples, that hadn't been the best idea.

**After fifteen more fast and furious minutes, Ireland had pulled ahead by ten more goals. **

**They were now leading by one hundred and thirty points to ten, and the game was starting to get dirtier. As Mullet shot towards the goalpost yet again, clutching the Quaffle tightly under her arm, the Bulgarian Keeper, Zograf, flew out to meet her. Whatever happened was over so quickly that Harry didn't catch it, **

"Then it must be fast."

"Not again!"

**but a scream of rage from the Irish crowd, **

**and Mostafa's long, shrill whistle blast, told him it had been a foul. **

**"And Mostafa takes the Bulgarian Keeper to task for clobbering - excessive use of elbows!" Bagman informed the roaring spectators. **

**"And - yes, it's a penalty to Ireland!"**

Cheers went up now.

**The leprechauns, who had risen angrily into the air like a swarm of glittering hornets when Mullet had been fouled, now darted together to form the words "HA HA HA!"**

"Were they purposely trying to piss the Veela off?" Dean chuckled.

**The Veela on the other side of the pitch leapt to their feet, tossed their hair angrily and started to dance again. **

**As one, the Weasley boys and Harry stuffed their fingers in their ears, but Hermione, who hadn't bothered, was soon tugging on Harry's arm. He turned to look at her, and she pulled his fingers impatiently out of his ears.**

"Wait so they stopped affecting you?" A few guys were in awe, though they quickly turned away when Theo glared.

**"Look at the referee!" she said, giggling.**

**Harry looked down at the pitch. Hassan Mostafa had landed right in front of the dancing Veela, and was acting very oddly indeed. **

**He was flexing his muscles and smoothing his moustache excitedly.**

Other were following Hermiones perfect example.

**"Now we can't have that!" said Bagman, though he sounded highly amused. "Somebody slap the referee!" **

**A medi-wizard came tearing across the pitch, his fingers stuffed in his own ears, and kicked Mostafa hard on the shins. **

Giggles became full blown laugh.

**Mostafa seemed to come to himself; Harry watching through his Omnioculars again, saw that he looked exceptionally embarrassed, and was shouting at the Veela, who had stopped dancing and were looking mutinous.**

**"And unless I'm much mistaken. Mostafa is actually attempting to send off the Bulgarian Team Mascots," said Bagman's voice. **

And a few fell of the sofas and rolled across the floor.

**"Now **_**there's**_ **something we haven't seen before... oh, this could turn nasty..."**

"It did." A few people said through their laughs.

**It did, the Bulgarian Beaters, Volkov and Vulchanov, had landed either side of Mostafa, and began arguing furiously with him, gesticulating towards the leprechauns, who had now gleefully formed the words "HEE HEE HEE."**

"They were trying and succeeding." Mr Weasley laughed to Dean's question.

**Mostafa was not impressed by the Bulgarians' arguments, however; he was jabbing his finger in the air, clearly telling team to get flying again, and when they refused, he gave two short blasts on his whistle. **

**"**_**Two**_ **penalties for Ireland!" shouted Bagman, and the Bulgarian crowd howled with anger.**

The place sounded like a Rugby/American Football match.

**"And Volkaov and Vulchanov had better get back on those brooms... yes... there they go... and Troy takes the Quaffle..." **

**Play had now reached a level of ferocity beyond anything they had yet seen. The Beaters on both sides were acting without mercy: Volkov and Vulchanov in particular seemed not to care whether their clubs made contact with Bludger or human, as they swung them violently through the air. Dimitrov shot straight at Moran, who had the Quaffle, nearly knocking her off her broom.**

"The Bulgarians really didn't help them selves." Harry said under his breath.

"No we didn't." Krum agreed, shaking his head.

**"**_**Foul**_**!" roared the Irish supporters as one, all standing up in a great wave of green.**

**"Foul!" echoed Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice. "Dimitrov skins Moran - deliberately flying to collide there - and it's got to be another penalty - yes, there's the whistle!"**

**The leprechauns had risen into the air again and, this time, they formed a giant hand, which was making a very rude sign indeed across the pitch towards the Veela. **

People were bubbling with pure laughter.

**At this, the Veela lost control. **

**They launched themselves across the pitch, and began throwing what seemed like handfuls of fire at the leprechauns. **

Fleur, in good humour summoned in her hand a small ball of fire about the size of a golf ball and threw it getting a few shrieks and many more laughs.

**Watching through his Omnioculars, Harry saw that they didn't look remotely beautiful now. On the contrary, their faces were elongating into sharp, cruel-beaked bird heads, and long, scaly wings were bursting from their shoulders –**

"Haha." Gabriel laughed.

"Shut it." Harry rolled his eyes.

**"And **_**that**_**, boys," yelled Mr. Weasley over the tumult of the crowd below, "is why you should never go for looks alone!" **

**Ministry wizards were flooding onto the field to separate the Veela and the leprechauns, but with little success; meanwhile, the pitched battle below was nothing to the one above. **

"That really is saying something." Seamus laughed.

**Harry turned this way and that, staring through his Omnioculars, as the Quaffle changed hands with the speed of a bullet –**

**"Levski - Dimitrov - Moran - Troy - Mullet - Ivanova - Moran again - Moran - MORAN SCORES!"**

**But the cheers of the Irish supporters were barely heard over the shrieks of the Veela, the blasts now issuing from the Ministry members' wands, and the furious roars of the Bulgarians. **

People were laughing and cheering again.

**The game recommenced immediately; now Levski had the Quaffle, now Dimitrov - **

**The Irish Beater Quigley swung heavily at a passing Bludger, and hit it as hard as possible towards Krum, who did not duck quickly enough. It hit him hard in the face.**

If you'd ever been hit by a Bludger you turned green.

**There was a deafening groan from the crowd; Krum's nose looked broken, there was blood everywhere, but Hassan Mostafa didn't blow his whistle. He had become distracted, and Harry couldn't blame him; one of the Veela had thrown a handful of fire and set his broom alight.**

Cheers went up for the Veela because Gods this was hilarious.

**Harry wanted someone to realise that Krum was injured; even though he was supporting Ireland, Krum was the most exciting player on the pitch. **

Krum gave him a slight smile which he returned.

**Ron obviously felt the same. **

**"Time out! Ah, come on, he can't play like that, look at him -"**

"A good seeker can-"

"Never mind great." The twins told him.

**"**_**Look at Lynch!**_**" Harry yelled.**

**For the Irish Seeker had suddenly gone into a dive, and Harry was quite sure that this was no Wronski Feint; this was the real thing...**

**"He's seen the Snitch!" Harry shouted. "He's seen it! Look at him go!"**

They were literally bouncing in their seat.

**Half the crowd seemed to have realised what was happening, the Irish supporters rose in a great wave of green, screaming their Seeker on... but Krum was on his tail. **

**How he could see where he was going, Harry had no idea; there were flecks of blood flying through the air behind him, but he was drawing level with Lynch now, **

How the heck was this so tense when they knew how it ended?

**as the pair of them hurtled towards the ground again - **

**"They're going to crash!" shrieked Hermione.**

**"They're not!" roared Ron.**

**"Lynch is!" yelled Harry.**

People tried to look at him again but, well you know.

**And he was right - for the second time, Lynch hit the ground with tremendous force, and was immediately stampeded by a horde of angry Veela.**

"OOOOHHHH!"

**"The Snitch, where's the Snitch!" bellowed Charlie, along the row. **

**"He's got it - Krum's got it - it's all over!" shouted Harry.**

And repeat two comments back.

**Krum, his red robes shining with blood from his nose, was rising gently into the air, his fist held high, a glint of gold in his hand. **

**The scoreboard was flashing BULGARIA: ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY, IRELAND: ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY **

The hall cheered beyond belief.

**across the crowd, who didn't seem to have realised what had happened.**

**Then, slowly, as though a great jumbo jet was revving up, the rumbling from the Ireland supporters grew louder and louder and erupted into screams of delight. **

Which began again as if on command.

**"IRELAND WINS!" shouted Bagman, who, like the Irish, seemed to have been taken aback by the sudden end of the match. "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH - BUT IRELAND WINS -**

And for the third round.

**good Lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"**

**"What did he catch the Snitch for?" Ron bellowed, even as he jumped up and down, applauding with his hands over his head. "He ended it when Ireland were a hundred and sixty points ahead, the idiot!" **

Krum glared at the youngest Weasley boy who shrunk away in fea. r

**"He knew they were never going to catch up," Harry shouted back over all the noise, also applauding loudly, "the Irish Chasers were too good... he wanted to end it on his terms, that's all..." **

"Someone understands." The Bulgarian muttered.

"Any Seeker should." Draco piped.

**"He was very brave, wasn't he?" Hermione said, leaning forward to watch Krum land, and the swarm of mediwizards blasting a path through the battling leprechauns and Veela to get to him. "He looks a terrible mess..."**

**Harry put his Omnioculars to his eyes again. It was hard to see what was happening below, because the leprechauns were zooming delightedly all over the pitch, but he could just make out Krum, surrounded by mediwizards. He looked surlier than ever, and refused to let them mop him up.**

Several Quidditch players nodded understanding.

**His team-mates were around him, shaking their heads and looking dejected; a short way away, the Irish players were dancing gleefully in a shower of gold descending from the stadium, the Irish national anthem blared from all sides; the Veela were shrinking back to their usual, beautiful selves now, though looking dispirited and forlorn.**

"Like Phlegm after a task." Ginny sneered only now her hair was green and skin orange. Oompa loompa doopity doo, singing from her making the muggle raised ROFLing

**"Vell, ve fought bravely," said a gloomy voice behind Harry. He looked around; it was the Bulgarian Minister for Magic.**

**"You can speak English!" said Fudge, sounding outraged. "And you've been letting me mime everything all day!" **

**"Vell, it vos funny," said the Bulgarian minister, shrugging.**

The hall was laughing even further, now that is their kind of minister.

**"And as the Irish team perform a lap of honour, flanked by their mascots, the Quidditch World Cup itself is brought into the Top Box!" roared Bagman.**

**Harry's eyes were suddenly dazzled by a blinding white light, as the Top Box was magically illuminated so that everyone in the stands could see the inside. Squinting towards the entrance, he saw two panting wizards carrying into the box a vast golden cup, which they handed to Cornelius Fudge, who was still looking very disgruntled that he'd been using sign language all day for nothing. **

No one bothered restraining those laughs.

**"Let's have a really loud hand for the gallant losers - Bulgaria!" Bagman shouted.**

**And up the stairs came the seven defeated Bulgarian players. The crowd below were applauding appreciatively; Harry could see thousands and thousands of Omniocular lenses flashing and winking in their direction.**

"Only you would notice that at the same time." Blaise chuckled.

**One by one, the Bulgarians filed between the rows of seats in the box, and Bagman called out the name of each as they shook hands with their own Minister and then with Fudge. Krum, who was last in line, looked a real mess. **

Harry was unrepentant.

**Two black eyes were blooming spectacularly on his bloody face. He was still holding the Snitch. Harry noticed that he looked much less co-ordinated on the ground. He was slightly duck-footed and distinctly round-shouldered. But when Krum's name was announced, the whole stadium gave him a resounding, ear-splitting roar. **

And the hall decided to copy it.

**And then came the Irish team. Aidan Lynch was being supported by Moran and Connolly; the second crash seemed to have dazed him and his eyes looked strangely unfocused. **

**But he grinned happily as Troy and Quigley lifted the Cup into the air and the crowd below thundered their approval. Harry's hands were numb with clapping.**

"Same here." A few people called.

**At last, when the Irish team had left the box to perform another lap of honour on their brooms **

**(Aidan Lynch on the back of Connolly's, clutching hard around his waist and still grinning in a bemused sort of way), **

Lavender whispered to Pavarti about the two of them being rumoured to be together.

**Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and muttered "**_**Quietus**_**". **

**"They'll be talking about this one for years," he said hoarsely, **

**"a really unexpected twist, that ... shame it couldn't have lasted longer ... ah yes ... yes, I owe you ... how much?" **

Molly shot a disapproving look at the twins.

**For Fred and George had just scrambled over the backs of their seats, and were standing in front of Ludo Bagman with broad grins on their faces, their hands outstretched.**

"That's the chapter." Lee announced.

"Okay I'm out, I have Cyclops to deal with." Gabriel announced her wings were heard and she was gone.


	12. The Dark Mark

Draco held his hand out for the book and Lee happily passed it over.

**CHAPTER NINE - THE DARK MARK **Draco winced then laughed when Harry nudged him.

**"Don't tell your mother you've been gambling," Mr. Weasley implored Fred and George**

"They won't they have brains." Lee pointed out.

**as they all made their way slowly down the purple-carpeted stairs.**

**"Don't worry, Dad," said Fred gleefully, "we've got big plans for this money, we don't want it confiscated."**

"See what he means." Alicia giggled.

**Mr. Weasley looked for a moment as though he was going to ask what these big plans were, but seemed to decide, upon reflection, that he didn't want to know.**

"Most likely for the best dad." Bill grinned. Charlie copying.

"Then you can deny all knowledge."

**They were soon caught up in the crowds now flooding out of the stadium and back to their campsites. Raucous singing was borne towards them on the night air as they retraced their steps along the lantern-lit path, and the leprechauns kept shooting over their heads, cackling and waving their lanterns.**

"They were as bad as Peeves" Percy wrinkled his nose.

**When they finally reached the tents, nobody felt like sleeping at all, and given the level of noise around them, Mr. Weasley agreed that they could all have one last cup of cocoa together before turning in. They were soon arguing enjoyably about the match; Mr. Weasley got drawn into a disagreement about cobbing with Charlie,**

"And Bill decided to see how good Harry's reflexes were while we watched." The twins snickered.

"I didn't know he was that fast other wise I wouldn't have tried." Bill blushed.

"He tried to get Harry's hot chocolate and ended up with milk on his head." Ron laughed.

**and it was only when Ginny fell asleep right at the tiny table and spilled hot chocolate all over the floor that Mr. Weasley called a halt to the verbal replays, and insisted that everyone went to bed.**

**Hermione and Ginny went into the next tent, and Harry and the rest of the Weasleys changed into pajamas and clambered into their bunks. From the other side of the campsite they could still hear much singing and the odd echoing bang.**

"It was crazy by the Irish tent's we didn't even bother trying to sleep." Dean looked like his cheeks would brake, and Seamus was worse with his grin.

**"Oh, I am glad I'm not on duty," muttered Mr. Weasley sleepily, "I wouldn't fancy having to go and tell the Irish they've got to stop celebrating."**

"Oh, no one made the mistake of trying." Amelia said, then shuddered at the thought.

**Harry, who was on a top bunk above Ron, lay staring up at the canvas ceiling of the tent, watching the glow of an occasional leprechaun lantern flying overhead, and picturing again some of Krum's more spectacular moves.**

**He was itching to get back on his own Firebolt and try out the Wronski Feint...**

The Griffins laughed happily at the though and remembered Harry using it.

**Somehow Oliver Wood had never managed to convey with all his wriggling diagrams what that move was supposed to look like...**

**Harry saw himself in robes that had his name on the back, and imagined the sensation of hearing a hundred-thousand-strong crowd roar, as Ludo Bagman's voice echoed throughout the stadium, "I give you ... **_**Potter**_**!"**

The hall cheered as the Ravenette laughed.

"Cool it guys, we'll see." He smirked, surprisingly heard over the crowd.

**Harry never knew whether he had actually dropped off to sleep or not - his fantasies of flying like Krum might well have slipped into actual dreams - all he knew was that, quite suddenly, Mr. Weasley was shouting.**

**"Get up! Ron - Harry - come on now, get up, this is urgent!"**

The room tensed in a second, more so than when they saw the blood covered Archangel.

**Harry sat up quickly and the top of his head hit the canvas.**

**"'S'matter?" he said.**

**Dimly, he could tell that something was wrong. The noises in the campsite had changed.**

"Of course he'd notice that." Ron muttered

**The singing had stopped. He could hear screams, and the sound of people running.**

"It wasn't hard." Was the simple reply.

**He slipped down from the bunk, and reached for his clothes, but Mr. Weasley, who had pulled on his jeans over his own pajamas, said, "No time, Harry - just grab a jacket and get outside - quickly!"**

**Harry did as he was told, and hurried out of the tent, Ron at his heels.**

**"Shouldn't you all stick together?" Madam Maxine fretted slightly. **

"We just wanted out of there." And everyone at the cup nodded.

**By the light of the few fires that were still burning, he could see people running away into the woods, fleeing something that was moving across the field towards them, something that was emitting odd flashes of light and noises like gunfire. Loud jeering, roars of laughter and drunken yells were drifting towards them; then came a burst of strong green light, which illuminated the scene.**

People gulped while others plain out shivered. Everyone's skin tinged green or paper white even though they were told they weren't the real thing it didn't help.

**A crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upwards, was marching slowly across the field. Harry squinted at them...**

**They didn't seem to have faces...**

**Then he realized that their heads were hooded and their faces masked.**

"Their like something out of a comic." Dennis muttered getting a few very strained chuckles.

**High above them, floating along in mid-air, four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes.**

**It was as though the masked wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes operated by the invisible strings that rose from the wands into the air. Two of the figures were very small.**

A couple of buckets were summoned as people threw up.

**More wizards were joining the marching group, laughing and pointing up at the floating ****bodies.**

**Tents crumpled and fell as the marching crowd swelled. Once or twice Harry saw one of the marchers blast a tent out of his way with his wand. Several caught fire.**

**The screaming grew louder.**

A few more buckets were conjured as others turned alarming colours, Astoria was sitting with her head between her knees.

**The floating people were suddenly illuminated as they passed over a burning tent, and Harry recognized one of them: Mr. Roberts, the campsite manager.**

**The other three looked as though they might be his wife and children.**

**One of the marchers below flipped Mrs. Roberts upside-down with his wand; her nightdress fell down to reveal voluminous drawers and she struggled to cover herself up as the crowd below her screeched and hooted with glee.**

**"That's sick," Ron muttered,**

"Agreed." It was that kind of faint that you automatically connected with the word.

**watching the smallest Muggle child, who had begun to spin like a top, sixty feet above the ground, his head flopping limply from side to side.**

More people gagged, retched and threw up again, Harry vaguely wondered how they'd do later.

**"That is really sick..."**

**Hermione and Ginny came hurrying towards them, pulling coats over their nightdresses, with Mr. Weasley right behind them. At the same moment, Bill, Charlie, and Percy emerged from the boys' tent, fully dressed, with their sleeves rolled up and their wands out.**

**"We're going to help the Ministry," Mr. Weasley shouted over all the noise, rolling up his own sleeves. "You lot - get into the woods, and **_**stick together**_**.**

The lot of them winced.

**I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"**

**Bill, Charlie and Percy were already sprinting away towards the oncoming marchers; Mr. Weasley tore after them. Ministry wizards were dashing from every direction towards the source of the trouble. The crowd beneath the Roberts family was coming ever closer.**

**"C'mon," said Fred, grabbing Ginny's hand and starting to pull her towards the wood. Harry, Ron, Hermione and George followed. They all looked back as they reached the trees.**

"You should just be moving." Molly snapped worried making the resident Goddess and the twins groan.

**The crowd beneath the Roberts family was larger than ever; they could see Ministry wizards trying to get through it to the hooded wizards in the centre, but they were having great difficulty**

**It looked as though they were to scared to perform any spell that might make the Roberts family fall.**

The members of the ministry, not including the toad and minister, nodded.

**The coloured lanterns that had lit the path to the stadium had been extinguished. Dark figures were blundering through the trees; children were crying; anxious shouts and panicked voices were reverberating around them in the cold night air. **

The level of fear went up yet another.

**Harry felt himself being pushed hither and thither by people whose faces he could not see. Then he heard Ron yell with pain.**

**"What happened?" said Hermione anxiously, stopping so abruptly that Harry walked into her. "Ron, where are you? Oh, this is stupid – **_**Lumos**_**!"**

Blaise squeezed her waist gently and she leaned into his offered warmth.

**She illuminated her wand and directed its narrow beam across the path. Ron was lying sprawled on the ground.**

"**Tripped over a tree root," he said angrily, getting to his feet again.**

**"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," said a drawling voice from behind them.**

The platinum blond whistled innocently, relieving some of the tension.

**Harry, Ron and Hermione turned sharply. Draco Malfoy was standing alone nearby, leaning against a tree, looking utterly relaxed.**

"He had no reason to worry, same as me." Theo shrugged.

**His arms folded, he seemed to have been watching the scene on the campsite through a gap in the trees.**

**Ron told Malfoy to do something that Harry knew he would never have dared to say in front of Mrs. Weasley.**

"There are a lot of things that you can't say in front of Molly." Sirius grumbled.

**"Language, Weasley," said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like **_**her**_** spotted, would you?" He nodded at Hermione,**

Harry face palmed, Draco was warning them because Lucius would know.

**and at the same moment, a blast like a bomb sounded from the campsite, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around them.**

**"What's that supposed to mean?" said Hermione defiantly.**

**"Granger, they're after **_**Muggles**_**," said Malfoy.**

**"D'you want to be showing off your knickers in mid-air? Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."**

A few people snickered but quickly reined it in. It sounded funny but they knew it was anything but.

**"Hermione's a witch," Harry snarled.**

**"Have it your own way, Potter," said Mayfly, grinning maliciously. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood,** **stay where you are."**

**"You watch your mouth!" shouted Ron. Everyone present knew that "Mudblood" was a very offensive term for a wizard or witch of Muggle parentage.**

"Only because you've twisted the meaning, it use to mean a bad, to put it mildly, person while pureblood was a high complement." Lucifer shook his head at human stupidity though they had grown on him over the millennia.

**"Never mind, Ron," said Hermione quickly, seizing Ron's arm to restrain him as he took a step towards Malfoy.**

**There came a bang from the other side of the trees that was louder than anything they had heard. Several people nearby screamed. Malfoy chuckled softly.**

**"Scare easily, don't they?" he said lazily. "I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's ****he up to - trying to rescue the Muggles?"**

**"Where're **_**your**_** parents?" said Harry, his temper rising. "Out there wearing masks, are they?"**

"Well one was." Narcissa interrupted.

**Malfoy turned his face to Harry, still smiling, "Well... if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?"**

**"Oh, come on," said Hermione, with a disgusted look at Malfoy, "let's go and find the others."**

"Always the smart one." Harry chuckled.

**"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger," sneered Malfo**

**"Come **_**on**_**," Hermione repeated, and she pulled Harry and Ron up off the path again.**

**"I'll bet you anything his dad **_**is**_** one of that masked lot!" said Ron hotly.**

"That would be a suckers bet." Daphne smirked.

**"Well, with any luck, the Ministry will catch him!" said Hermione fervently. "Oh, I can't believe this, where have the others got to?"**

**Fred, George and Ginny were nowhere to be seen, though the path was packed with plenty of other people, all of them looking nervously over their shoulders towards the commotion back at the campsite. A huddle of teenagers in pajamas was arguing vociferously a little was along the path. When they saw Harry, Ron and Hermione, a girl with thick, curly hair turned and said quickly, "**_**Ou est Madame Maxime? Nous l'avons perdue -"**_

"Our term start earlier." Fleur informed.

**"Er - what?" said Ron."**

**"Oh..." The girl who had spoken turned her back on him, and as they walked on they distinctly heard her say, "'Ogwarts."**

"Why do they always treat us like were less?" Angelina frowned.

"It's something we did to the French." Lucifer said grimly.

"What?" Harry asked wearily.

" Nothing to bad, except let all the French aristocracy have heavenly blood. We wanted to see if they could take it."

**"Beauxbatons," muttered Hermione.**

**"Sorry?" said Harry.**

**"They must go to Beauxbatons," said Hermione. "You know... Beauxbatons Academy of Magic... I read about it in **_**An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe**_**."**

**"Oh... yeah... right," said Harry.**.

People stared.

"Well sorry I'm to busy worrying about being killed to think about it." Harry snapped and rubbed his scar, growling in the back of his throat. Lucifer pulled him over into his lap and used one hand to massage the ravenette's scalp, relieving the pain and making the younger let something akin to a purr out.

**"Fred and George can't have gone far," said Ron, pulling out his wand, lighting it like Hermione's, and squinting up the path. Harry dug in the pockets of his jacket for his own ****wand - but it wasn't there.**

Everyone tensed, that wasn't good.

**The only things he could find were his Omnioculars.**

**"Ah, no, I don't believe it... I've lost my wand!"**

**"You're kidding?"**

**Ron and Hermione raised their wands high enough to spread the narrow beams of light further on the ground;**

**Harry looked all around him, but his wand was nowhere to be seen.**

**"Maybe it's back at the tent," said Ron.**

Everyone thought, he hadn't mentioned it at all.

**"Maybe it fell out of your pocket when we were running?" Hermione suggested anxiously.**

**"Yeah," said Harry, "maybe ..."**

**He usually kept his wand with him at all times in the wizarding world,**

The Aurors nodded absently.

**and finding himself without it in the midst of a scene like this made him feel very vulnerable.**

**A rustling noise made them all jump.**

**Winky the house-elf was fighting her way out of a clump of bushes nearby.**

**She was moving in a most peculiar fashion, apparently with great difficulty; it was as though someone invisible was trying to hold her back.**

"She tried to go against her masters orders." Andromeda sighed, running a hand through her dark hair.

**"There is bad wizards about!" she squeaked distractedly, as she leant forwards and labored to keep running.**

**"People high - high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!"**

**And she disappeared into the trees on the other side of the path, panting and squeaking as she fought the force that was restraining her.**

People winced in pain.

**"What's up with her?" said Ron, looking curiously after Winky. "Why can't she run properly?"**

**"Bet she didn't ask permission to hide," said Harry.**

**He was thinking of Dobby: Every time he had tried to do something the Malfoys wouldn't like, he had been forced to start beating himself up.**

"It's sick." Ashlyn looked white rather than pale.

**"You know, house-elves get a **_**very**_** raw deal!" said Hermione indignantly. "It's slavery, that's what it is! That Mr. Crouch made her go up to the top of the stadium, and she was terrified, and he's got her bewitched so she can't even run when they start trampling tents! Why doesn't anyone **_**do**_** anything about it?"**

"It's the way they are, if they can't work." Andi shrugged.

"They lose the will to live." Sirius finished.

**"Well, the elves are happy, aren't they?" said Ron. "You heard old Winky back at the match... ****'House-elves is not supposed to have fun'... that's what she likes, being bossed around..."**

**"It's people like **_**you**_**, Ron," Hermione began hotly, "who prop up rotten and unjust systems, just because they're too lazy to -"**

"Wizards didn't cause it, just took advantage of it." Narcissa said gently but made sure her point was put across.

**Another loud bang echoed from the edge of the wood.**

**"Let's just keep moving, shall we?" said Ron, and Harry saw him glance edgily at Hermione. Perhaps there was truth in what Malfoy had said; perhaps Hermione **_**was**_** in more danger than they were.**

"Potter, you were in the most danger." One of the Slytherins, Tracy said.

**They set off again, Harry still searching his pockets, even though he knew his wand wasn't there.**

**They followed the dark path deeper into the wood, still keeping an eye out for Fred, George and Ginny. They passed a group of goblins, who were cackling over a sack of gold they had undoubtedly won betting on the match,**

"Idiots." A few muttered.

**and who seemed quite unperturbed by the trouble on the campsite. Farther still along the path, they walked into a patch of silvery light, and when they looked through the trees, they saw three tall and beautiful veela standing in a clearing, surrounded by a gaggle of young wizards, all of whom were talking very loudly.**

**"I pull down about a hundred sacks of Galleons a year," one of them shouted. "I'm a dragon-killer for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures."**

Charlie practically hissed and Fleur looked revolted.

**"No, you're not," yelled his friend, "you're a dish-washer at the Leaky Cauldron ... but I'm a Vampire Hunter, I've killed about ninety so far -"**

"I highly doubt that because we would have killed you." Michael appeared next to Lucifer, on the opposite side to Apollo. He was wearing the same as Gabriel only without blood and a nice tear in the shoulder of the leather. Harry moved from Lucifers lap to his, the angel looked exhausted and no one thought that was possible.

**A third young wizard, whose pimples were visible even by the dim, silvery light of the veela, now cut in, "I'm about to become the youngest Minister for Magic, I am."**

**Harry snorted with laughter. He recognized the pimply wizard: His name was Stan Shunpike, and he was in fact a conductor on the triple-decker Knight Bus.**

And many followed Harry's example.

**He turned to tell Ron this, but Ron's face had gone oddly slack, and next second Ron was yelling, "Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?"**

**"**_**Honestly**_**!" said Hermione once again, and she and Harry grabbed Ron firmly by the arms, wheeled him around and marched him away.**

"Good." The Slytherin boys snickered, they may like Harry, but Ron, not so much.

**By the time the sounds of the veela and their admirers had faded completely, they were in the very heart of the wood. They seemed to be alone now; everything was much quieter.**

**Harry looked around. "I reckon we can just wait here, you know, we'll hear anyone coming a mile off."**

"Who's appeared?" Remus groaned.

"No one important." Harry muttered, Michael seemed to be asleep while Harry was as good as.

**The words were hardly out of his mouth, when Ludo Bagman emerged from behind a tree right ahead of them.**

Jaws dropped, Ludo Bagman, not important, but when they tried to question the Gryffindor seeker they saw he was asleep.

**Even by the feeble light of the two wands, Harry could see that a great change had come over Bagman.**

**He no longer looked buoyant and rosy-faced; there was no more spring in his step. He looked very white and strained.**

**"Who's that?" he said, blinking down at them, trying to make out their faces. "What are you doing in here, all alone?"**

**They looked at each other, surprised.**

And several people in the hall raised eyebrows.

**"Well - there's a sort of riot going on," said Ron.**

**Bagman stared at them.**

**"What?"**

**"At the campsite... some people have got hold of a family of Muggles..."**

**Bagman swore loudly.**

"Molly, if you wake my boyfriend you will pay for it." Theo hissed when the red head looked like she'd shout.

**"Damn them!" he said, looking quite distracted, and without another word, he Disapparated with a small **_**pop**_**.**

**"Not exactly on top of things, Mr. Bagman, is he?" said Hermione, frowning.**

**"He was a great Beater, though," said Ron,**

"Because he didn't have the grades to be anything else." Pomona snorted.

**leading the way off the path into a small clearing, and sitting down on a patch of dry grass at the foot of a tree. "The Wimbourne Wasps won the league three times in a row while he was with them."**

**He took the small figure of Krum out of his pocket, set it down on the ground and watched it walk around for a while. Like the real Krum, the model was slightly duck-footed and round-shouldered, much less impressive on his splayed feet than on his broomstick.**

**Harry was listening out for noise from the campsite. Everything still seemed quiet; perhaps the riot was over.**

"They were leaving." Arthur confirmed for the others.

**"I hope the others are OK," said Hermione after a while.**

**"They'll be fine," said Ron.**

**"Imagine if your Dad catches Lucius Malfoy," said Harry, sitting down next to Ron and watching the small figure of Krum slouching over the fallen leaves. "He's always said he'd like to get something on him."**

**"That'd wipe the smirk off old Draco's face, all right," said Ron.**

"Oh no it wouldn't." The blond was smirking now.

**"Those poor Muggles, though," said Hermione nervously. "What if they can't get them down?"**

**"They will," said Ron reassuringly, "They'll find a way."**

**"Mad, though, to do something like that when the whole Ministry of Magic's out here tonight!" said Hermione.**

**"I mean, how do they expect to get away with it? Do you think they've been drinking, or are they just -"**

"They were drinking." Narcissa confirmed.  
**But she broke off abruptly and looked over her shoulder.**

**Harry and Ron looked quickly around, too. It sounded as though someone was staggering towards their clearing.**

**They waited, listening to the sounds on the uneven steps behind the dark trees. But the footsteps came to a sudden halt.**

**"Hello?" called Harry.**

**There was silence. Harry got to his feet and peered around the tree.**

"Someone with a wand should have been doing that." Moody grunted harshly.

**It was too dark to see very far, but he could sense somebody standing just beyond the range of his vision.**

**"Who's there?" he said.**

**And then, without warning, the silence was rent by a voice unlike any they had heard in the wood; and it uttered, not a panicked shout, but what sounded like a spell.**

**"**_**MORSMORDRE!**_

Regardless of knowing what was happening Draco and Theo couldn't help but choke at the sound of that spell.

**And something vast, green and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness Harry's eyes had been struggling to penetrate: it flew up over the treetops and into the sky.**

**"What the -?" gasped Ron, as he sprang to his feet again, staring up at the thing that had appeared.**

**For a split second, Harry thought it was another leprechaun formation.**

"It's creepy but oddly beautiful if you can forget what it means." Astroia muttered and now that people thought about it, she had a point.

**Then he realized that it was a colossal skull, composed of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue.** **As they watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation.**

**Suddenly, the wood all around them erupted with screams. Harry didn't understand why,**

"You know nothing." Goyle muttered then shrieked as paint dropped on his head, making him multi coloured.

**but the only possible cause was the sudden appearance of the skull, which had now risen high enough to illuminate the entire wood, like some grisly neon sign.**

**He scanned the darkness for the person who had conjured the skull, but he couldn't see anyone.**

**"And with a reason." Ron muttered to himself. **

**"Who's there?" he called again.**

**"Harry, come on, **_**move**_**!" Hermione had seized the back of his jacket, and was tugging him backwards.**

**"What's the matter?" said Harry, startled to see her face so white and terrified.**

"Of course." Everyone who said it burst out laughing and Hermione giggled at herself.

**"It's the Dark Mark, Harry!" Hermione moaned, pulling him as hard as she could.**

**"You-Know-Who's sign!"**

**"**_**Voldemort's**_**-?"**

**"Harry, come **_**on**_**!"**

Theo groaned and looked over to his boyfriend, he looked so cute curled up like a kitten.

**Harry turned - Ron was hurriedly scooping up his miniature Krum – the three of them started across the clearing - but before they had taken more than a few hurried steps, a series of popping noises announced the arrival of twenty wizards, appearing from thin air, surrounding them.**

Everybody tensed most out of worry but some from hope, the bigots in the room.

**Harry whirled around, and in a split second, he registered one fact: each one of these wizards had his wand out, and every wand was pointing right at himself, Ron and Hermione.**

**Without pausing to think, he yelled, "DUCK!"**

**He seized the other two and pulled them down onto the ground.**

"I wouldn't mind him as a partner." Both Kingsley and Tonks said at the same time and Moody grunted his agreement.

"Agreed." Amelia smiled.

**"**_**STUPEFY!**_**" roared twenty voices - there was a blinding series of flashes and Harry felt the hair on his head ripple as though a powerful wind had swept the clearing. Raising his head a fraction of an inch he saw jets of fiery red light flying over them from the wizards' wands, crossing each other, bouncing off tree trunks, rebounding into the darkness -**

**"Stop!" yelled a voice he recognized. "STOP! **_**That's my son!**_**"**

"There are few times I have been more thankful to Harry for being there." Arthur sighed, rubbing his face tiredly, If it weren't for Harry he didn't know what would happen and far from wanted to find out.

**Harry's hair stopped blowing about. He raised his head a little higher. The wizard in front of him had lowered his wand.**

"Wonder how many years Aurour training would take him?" Sirius mused.

**He rolled over and saw Mr. Weasley striding towards them, looking terrified. "Ron - Harry -" his voice sounded shaky, "- Hermione - are you all right?"**

**"Out of the way, Arthur," said a cold, curt voice. It was Mr. Crouch.**

"He can't possibly think..." Amelia didn't even finish that sentence.

"Apparently he can." McGonagall glared at nothing.

**He and the other Ministry wizards were closing in on them. Harry got to his feet to face them. Mr. Crouch's face was taut with rage.**

**"Which of you did it?" he snapped, his sharp eyes darting between them. "Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"**

People were outraged and about to start shouting when Ashlyn clicked her fingers silencing them. "Guys, I get you're angry but your going to wake up both an Archangel and Harry." Everyone calmed down and stopped trying to shout so she clicked her fingers again so Draco could continue.

**"We didn't do that!" said Harry, gesturing up at the skull.**

**"We didn't do anything!" said Ron, who was rubbing his elbow, and looking indignantly at his father. "What did you want to attack us for?"**

"Shot first, ask questions later." Justin shrugged and a few other agreed.

**"Do not lie, sir!" shouted Mr. Crouch. His wand was still pointing directly at Ron, and his eyes were popping - he looked slightly mad. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"**

**"Barty," whispered a witch in a long woolen dressing-gown, "they're kids, Barty, they'd never have been able to -"**

"Thank you." About half the hall muttered, glad to see that someone was being logical.

**"Where did the Mark come from, you three?" said Mr. Weasley quickly.**

**"Over there," said Hermione shakily, pointing at the place where they had heard the voice, "there was someone behind the trees ... they shouted words- an incantation-"**

"You really were shaken up." Blaise muttered, pulling her closer to him and gently kissing her temple.

**"Oh, stood over there, did they?" said Mr. Crouch, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now, disbelief etched all over his face. "Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy -"**

**But none of the Ministry wizards apart from Mr. Crouch seemed to think it remotely likely that Harry, Ron or Hermione had conjured the skull;**

"Because they actually seem to be sane." Lee explained slowly making others chuckle.

**on the contrary, at Hermione's words, they has raised all their wands, and were pointing in the direction she had indicated, squinting through the dark trees.**

**"We're too late," said the witch in the woolen dressing-gown, shaking her head. "They'll have Disapparated." **

"If they could." The adults in the group who hadn't been there exchanged looks, the stunners had gone through the trees and there had been no sound of someone going.

**"I don't think so," said a wizard with a scrubby brown beard. It was Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. "Our Stunners went right through those trees... there's a good chance we got them..."**

**"Amos, be careful!" said a few of the wizards warningly as Mr. Diggory squared his shoulders, raised his wand, marched across the clearing and disappeared into the darkness.**

"You should have gone with back up." Vanessa hit her husbands shoulder and he blushed, looking sheepish making Cedric snigger.

**Hermione watched him vanish with her hands over her mouth.**

**A few seconds later, they heard Mr. Diggory shout.**

**"Yes! We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's- but- blimey..."**

**"You've got someone?" shouted Mr. Crouch, sounding highly disbelieving. "Who? Who is ****it?"**

"Now why would he find that hard to believe?" Susan questioned and most people agreed, that didn't make sense.

**They heard snapping twigs, the rustling of leaves, and then crunching footsteps as Mr. Diggory reemerged from behind the trees. He was carrying a tiny, limp figure in his arms. Harry recognized the tea towel at once. It was Winky.**

Cue theatrical gasps that belong in a bad murder mystery.

**Mr. Crouch did not move or speak as Mr. Diggory deposited Mr. Crouch's elf on the ground at his feet.**

**The other Ministry wizards were all staring at Mr. Crouch.** **For a few seconds Crouch remained transfixed, his eyes blazing in his white face as he stared down at Winky. Then he appeared to come to life again.**

**"This - cannot - be," he said jerkily. "No -"**

"Well it would be a bit of a shock." Tonks admitted.

**He moved quickly around Mr. Diggory and strode off towards the place where he had found Winky.**

**"No point, Mr. Crouch," Mr. Diggory called after him. "There's no one else there."**

"That you saw." Dumbledore said under his breath.

**But Mr. Crouch did not seem prepared to take his word for it.**

**They could hear him moving around, the rustling of leaves as he pushed the bushes aside, searching.**

**"Bit embarrassing," Mr. Diggory said grimly, looking down at Winky's unconscious form. "Barty Crouch's house-elf ... I mean to say ..."**

"Embarrising is that all there slaves you insufferable..." Anger radiated from the goddess and heat from Apollo.

**"Come off it, Amos," said Mr. Weasley quietly, "you don't seriously think it was the elf? The Dark Mark's a wizard's sign. It requires a wand."**

**"Yeah," said Mr. Diggory, "and she **_**had**_** a wand."**

**"**_**What**_**?" said Mr. Weasley.**

"That's illegal." Umbitch shrieked.

"And you wake Michael you'll be dead." Lucifer hissed as the blond stirred slightly before settling back to sleep.

**"Here, look." Mr. Diggory held up a wand and showed it to Mr Weasley. "Had it in her hand. ****So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken for a start. **_**No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand**_**."**

A few hissed quietly, mind full of the sleeping. Suddenly Gabriel reappeared though cleaned up with an equally tired looking Raphael. Lucifer let the red head sit in his lap while he slept and Gabriel was took under Ashylns arm, they must have been fighting like crazy for this.

**Just then there was another **_**pop**_**, and Ludo Bagman Apparated right next to Mr. Weasley.** **Looking breathless and disorientated, he spun on the spot, goggling upwards at the emerald green skull.**

**"The Dark Mark!" he panted, almost trampling Winky as he turned enquiringly to his colleagues.**

**"Who did it? Did you get them? Barty! What's going on?"**

"He is pathetic." The twins murmured.

**Mr Crouch had returned empty-handed. His face was still ghostly white, and his hands and his toothbrush moustache were both twitching.**

**"Where have you been, Barty?" said Bagman.**

**"Why weren't you at the match? Your elf was saving you a seat, too - Gulping gargoyles!" ****Bagman had just noticed Winky lying at his feet. "What happened to **_**her**_**?"**

"Finally someone shows concern." Hermione glared.

"I think it was more shock." Alicia wrinkled her nose.

**"I have been busy, Ludo," said Mr. Crouch, still talking it the same jerky fashion, barely moving his lips. "And my elf has been Stunned."**

**"Stunned? By you lot, you mean? But why -?"**

**Comprehension dawned suddenly on Bagman's round, shiny face; he looked up at the skull, down at Winky and then at Mr. Crouch.**

**"**_**No!**_**" he said. "Winky? Conjure the Dark Mark? She wouldn't know how! She'd need a wand for a start!"**

"Okay so he's not as thick as we thought." Katie grinned to a few chuckles.

**"And she had one," said Mr. Diggory. "I found her holding one, Ludo. If it's all right with you, Mr. Crouch, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself."**

**Crouch gave no sign that he had heard Mr. Diggory, but Mr. Diggory seemed to take his silence for assent.**

**He raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky and said, "**_**Enervate**_**!"**

"And you waited until then to wake Winky up." Vanessa's jaw clenched.

**Wink stirred feebly. Her great brown eyes opened and she blinked several times in a bemused sort of way.**

**Watched by the silent wizards, she raised herself shakily into a sitting position. She caught sight of Mr. Diggory's feet, and slowly, tremulously raised her eyes to stare up into his face; then, more slowly still, she looked up into the sky.**

**Harry could see the floating skull reflected twice in her enormous, glassy eyes. She gave a gasp, looked wildly around the crowded clearing and burst into terrified sobs.**

"The poor thing." Pretty much every girl in the hall muttered as one though were still mindful of the sleeping few and Lucifer looked like he'd join them as he leaned his head on Michael's shoulder.

**"Elf!" said Mr Diggory sternly.** **"Do you know who I am? I'm a member of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures!"**

Vanessa slapped her husbands shoulder and gave him a writhing look and Amos knew he'd be sleeping on the sofa for a month.

**Winky began to rock backwards and forwards on the ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts.**

**Harry was reminded forcibly of Dobby in his moments of terrified disobedience.**

**"As you see, elf, the Dark Mark was conjured here a short while ago," said Mr Diggory.**

"And you can't use her name." Ashlyn trembled in furry but relaxed when Gabriel curled up further and buried her face in the goddess neck. Gabriel was at her most affectionate when asleep.

**"And you were discovered moments later, right beneath it! An explanation, if you please!"**

**"I - I - I is not doing it, sir!" Winky gasped. "I is not knowing how, sir!"**

"Let the poor thing calm down first." People nodded in agreement with Molly.

**"You were found with a wand in your hand!" barked Mr. Diggory, brandishing it in front of her.**

**And as the wand caught the green light that was filling the clearing from the skull above, Harry recognized it.**

**"Hey - that's mine!" he said.**

"At least you showed you were surprised." Draco groaned.

**Everyone in the clearing looked at him.**

**"Excuse me?" said Mr. Diggory, incredulously.**

**"That's my wand!" said Harry. "I dropped it!"**

**"You dropped it?" repeated Mr. Diggory in disbelief. "Is this a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?"**

"Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, and more importantly lost his parents to Voldemort ring any bells." Cedric raised a brow at his dad.

**"Amos, think who you're talking to!" said Mr. Weasley, very angrily. "Is Harry_ Potter_ likely to conjure the Dark Mark?"**

**"Er - of course not," mumbled Mr. Diggory. "Sorry ... carried away ..."**

"You'll never be a Raven." Padma said plainly, shaking her head.

**"I didn't drop it there, anyway," said Harry, jerking his thumb towards the trees beneath the skull. "I missed it right after we got into the wood."**

**"So," said Mr. Diggory, his eyes hardening as he turned to look at Winky again, cowering at his feet.**

**"You fund this wand, eh, elf? And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?"**

Gabriel wasn't that asleep as subconsciously she dropped salt water on the ex-Hufflepuff.

**"I is not doing magic with it, sir!" squealed Winky, tears streaming down the sides of her squashed bulbous nose. "I is ... I is ... I is just picking it up, sir! I is not making the Dark Mark, sir, I is not knowing how!"**

**"It wasn't her!" said Hermione. She looked very nervous, speaking up in front of all these Ministry wizards, yet determined all the same.**

People grinned at her, would have cheered but four pissed off angel and Harry. Not what they ever wanted.

**"Winky's got a squeaky little voice and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!" She looked round at Harry and Ron, appealing for their support.**

**"It didn't sound anything like Winky, did it?"**

**"No," said Harry, shaking his head. "It definitely didn't sound like an elf."**

Minerva smiled at her lions, they definitely did their house proud at those moments.

**"Yeah, it was a human voice," said Ron.**

**"Well, we'll soon see," growled Mr. Diggory, looking unimpressed.**

"You are an idiot, Cedric can't have got his brains from you." Terry shook his head to agreement from many.

**"There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a wand performed, elf, did you know that?"**

**Winky trembled and shook her head frantically, her ears flapping, as Mr. Diggory raised his own wand again, and placed it tip to tip with Harry's.**

**"_Prior Incantato!_" roared Mr. Diggory.**

"That doesn't prove she cast it." Theo hissed quietly.

**Harry heard Hermione gasp, horrified,** **as a gigantic serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it was a mere shadow of the green skull high above them, it looked as though it was made of thick grey smoke: the ghost of a spell. **

"Exactly what it is, a mere memory of it." Flitwick explained.

**"_Deletrius!_" Mr. Diggory shouted, and the smoky skull vanished in a whisp of smoke.**

**"So," said Mr. Diggory with a kind of savage triumph, looking down upon Winky, who was still shaking convulsively.**

**"I is not doing it!" she squealed, her eyes rolling in terror. "I is not, I is not, I is not knowing how!** **I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!"**

"Winky did nothing wrong and it's arrogant gits like you that make the ministry bad." Hermione hissed.

**"_You've been caught red-handed, elf!_" Mr Diggory roared. "_Caught with the guilty wand in your hand!_"**

**"Amos," said Mr. Weasley loudly, "think about it ... precious few wizards know how to do that spell ... where would she have learnt it?"**

"Thank you!" A few threw their hands up in victory.

**"Perhaps Amos is suggesting," said Mr Crouch, cold anger in every syllable, "that I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark?"**

**There was a deeply unpleasant silence. Amos Diggory looked horrified. "Mr. Crouch ... not ... not at all ..."**

"Well it does imply that." Remus agreed.

**"You have now come very close to accusing the two people in this clearing who are _least_ likely to conjure that Mark!" barked Mr. Crouch. "Harry Potter - and myself!** **I suppose you are familiar with the boy's story, Amos?"**

"You didn't seem to be a minute ago." Vanessa snapped harshly.

**"Of course - everyone knows -" muttered Mr. Diggory, looking highly discomforted.**

**"And I trust you remember the many proofs I have given , over a long career, that I despise and detest the Dark Arts and those who practice them?" Mr. Crouch shouted, his eyes bulging again.**

"Calm down, you raving lunatic." Angelina snapped getting a few giggles.

**"Mr. Crouch, I - I never suggested you had anything to do with it!" muttered Amos Diggory, now reddening behind his scrubby brown beard.**

**"If you accuse my elf, you accuse me, Diggory!" shouted Mr. Crouch. "Where else would she have learnt to conjure it?"**

**"She - she might've picked it up anywhere -"**

"The point exactly." Azrael appeared and his head dropped to Gabriel's shoulder and he was out in a second.

**"Precisely, Amos," said Mr Weasley. "_She might have picked it up anywhere_ ... Winky?" he said kindly, turning to the elf, but she flinched as though he, too, was shouting at her.**

"Can you blame her." Narcissa glared at Amos who cringed away, never mess with a Black is a good thing to remember if you want to live.

**"Where exactly did you find Harry's wand?"**

**Winky was twisting the hem of her tea-towel so violently that it was fraying beneath her fingers.**

**"I - I is finding it ... finding it there, sir ..." she whispered. "there ... in the trees, sir ..."**

**"You see, Amos?" said Mr. Weasley. "Whoever conjured the Mark could have Disapparated right after they'd done it, leaving Harry's wand behind.**

"Thank you logic." Bill threw his hands up. "You know dad the ministry would be in runes without you."

**A clever thing to do, not using their own wand, which could have betrayed them.** **And Winky here had the misfortune to come across the wand moments later and pick it up."**

"Thank you, if only more people listened to you." Amelia glared at Fudge on the last part.

**"But then, she'd have been feet away from the real culprit!" said Mr. Diggory impatiently. "Elf? Did you see anyone?"**

Ashlyn's power was sent out in a wave of anger, sparks of silver and gold jumping of the walls and crackling with power as she took deep breaths.

**Winky began to tremble worse then ever. Her giant eyes flickered from Mr. Diggory to Ludo Bagman, and on to Mr. Crouch.**

**Then she gulped, and said, "I is seeing no one, sir ... no one ..."**

"Will they at least try and calm her down." Andi sighed running her hands through her hair.

**"Amos," said Mr. Crouch curtly, "I am fully aware that, in the ordinary course of events, you would want to take Winky into your department for questioning. I ask you, however, to allow me to deal with her."**

**Mr. Diggory looked as though he didn't think much of this suggestion at all, but it was clear to Harry that Mr. Crouch was such an important member of the Ministry that he did not dare refuse him.**

"Bigots the lot of them." Blaise sneered and a lot of people growled.

**"You may rest assured that she will be punished," Mr. Crouch added coldly.**

**"M-m-master ..." Winky stammered, looking up at Mr. Crouch, her eyes brimming with tears. "M-m-master, p-p-please ..."**

"The poor thing was frightened, you wouldn't be like that with a human." Alicia shivered at the thought of them.

"You'd be surprised." Ashlyn's voice was dark, something non of them expected.

**Mr. Crouch stared back, his face somehow sharpened, each line upon it more deeply etched. There was no pity in his gaze.**

**"Winky has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible," he said slowly. "I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went out to sort out the trouble. And I find that she has disobeyed me.** **_This means clothes_."**

Everyone was glaring at the book now.

"Guys! Do you mind!" Draco burst out and breathed a sigh of relief when they looked away.

**"No!" shrieked Winky, prostrating herself at Mr Crouch's feet. "No, master! Not clothes, not clothes!"**

**Harry knew that the only way to turn a house-elf free was to present it with proper garments. It was pitiful to see the way Winky clutched at her tea-towel as she sobbed over Mr. Crouch's feet.**

People shook their heads fondly at Harry, normally would have commented but he was still asleep.

**"But she was frightened!" Hermione burst out angrily, glaring at Mr Crouch.**

The Griffins gave silent cheers for their fellow lion.

**"You elf's scared of heights, and those wizards in the masks were levitating people! You can't blame her for wanting to get out of their way!"**

People bobbed their heads in firm agreement.

**Mr. Crouch took a step backwards, freeing himself from contact with the elf, whom he was surveying as though she was something filthy and rotten that was contaminating his over-shined shoes.**

If Crouch had been their he'd be dead or worse from what the Gryffindors would have done to him.

**"I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me," he said coldly, looking up at Hermione.** **"I have no use for a servant who forgets what is due to her master, and to her master's reputation."**

Ashlyn shivered again and gripped onto Gabriel, that sounded far to familiar and Apollo looked pale under his tanned skin.

**Winky was crying so hard that her sobs echoed around the clearing.** **There was a very nasty silence, which was ended by Mr. Weasley, who said quietly, "Well, I think I'll take my lot back to the tent, if nobody's got any objections. Amos, that wand's told us all it can - if Harry could have it back, please -"**

**Mr. Diggory handed Harry his wand and Harry pocketed it.**

"I'm glad he's got a wand holster now." Theo rubbed the back of his neck, why did Harry have to get into so much trouble.

**"Come on, you three," Mr. Weasley said quietly. But Hermione didn't seem to want to move; her eyes were still upon the sobbing elf.**

**"Hermione!" Mr. Weasley said, more urgently.**

"Good Arthur, get them away from there." People just rolled their eyes.

**She turned and followed Harry and Ron out of the clearing and off through the trees.**

**"What's going to happen to Winky?" said Hermione, the moment they had left the clearing. **

People perked up a little, hoping for some kind of answer.

**"I don't know," said Mr. Weasley.**

**"The way they were treating her!" said Hermione furiously.**

**"Mr. Diggory calling her 'elf' all the time ... and Mr. Crouch! He knows she didn't do it and he's still going to sack her! He didn't care how frightened she'd been, or how upset she was - it was like she wasn't even human!"**

"She's not." Draco pointed out, though continued in the same stream before Hermione could say anything. "Which as far as most of them are concerned means she has no rights and her feelings don't matter, it's the way they are."

**"Well, she's not," said Ron.**

**Hermione rounded on him.**

**"That doesn't mean she hasn't got feelings, Ron, it's disgusting the way -"**

**"Hermione, I agree with you," said Mr. Weasley quickly,**

"Of course he would agree with a dirty little mudblood." Umbridge found herself covered in a garish yellow colour, her clothes, hair and skin included.

**beckoning her on, "but now is not the time to be discussing elf rights. I want to get back to the tent as fast as we can. What happened to the others?"**

**"We lost them in the dark," said Ron. "Dad, why was everyone so uptight about that skull thing?"**

"You shouldn't keep them that sheltered that they don't know." Sirius ran a hand through his hair, Molly looked ready to snap but Percy was the one to cover her mouth and nodded to the sleeping figures.

**"I'll explain everything back at the tent," said Mr. Weasley tensely.**

**But when they reached the edge of the wood, their progress was impeded.**

**A large crowd of frightened-looking witches and wizards were congregated there, and when they saw Mr. Weasley coming towards them, many of them surged forward.**

"You may not be the most important but your definitely one of the most well know." Kingsley chuckled.

**"What's going on in there?"**

**"Who conjured it?"**

**"Arthur - it's not - _Him_?"**

**"Of course it's not Him," said Mr. Weasley impatiently. "We don't know who it was, it looks like they Disapparated. Now excuse me, please, I want to get to bed."**

"You shouldn't make a statement with out official permission from the ministry." Delores said smugly.

"He was trying to calm people's nerves and can't be blamed you over grown frog." Amelia snapped and the hall giggled silently, some giving her a thumbs up.

**He led Harry, Ron and Hermione through the crowd and back into the campsite. All was quiet now; there was no sign of the masked wizards, though several ruined tents were still smoking.**

"It was pure chaos." Someone mumbled.

**Charlie's head was poking out of the boys' tent.**

**"Dad, what's going on?" he called through the dark. "Fred, George and Ginny got back OK, but the others -"**

**"I've got them here, said Mr. Weasley, bending down and entering the tent. Harry, Ron and Hermione entered after him.**

"I would have gone straight to bed after that." Neville muttered.

"We did." Seamus, Dean and several other chorused.

**Bill was sitting at the small kitchen table, holding a bedsheet to his arm, which was bleeding profusely.**

Molly's eyes widened in worry.

**Charlie had a large rip in his shirt, and Percy was sporting a bloody nose. Fred, George and Ginny looked unhurt, though shaken.**

**"Did you get them, Dad?" said Bill sharply. "The person who conjured the Mark?"**

**"No," said Mr. Weasley. "We found Barty Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark."**

**"_What?_" said Bill, Charlie and Percy together.**

"Why do I get the feeling that they're saying that for different reasons?" Katie spoke up.

**"Harry's wand?" said Fred.**

**"_Mr. Crouch's elf?_" said Percy, sounding thunderstruck.**

"What do you now Kate, you were right." Alicia said in a board tone, though her eyes were blazing.

**With some assistance from Harry, Ron and Hermione, Mr. Weasley explained what had happened in the woods. When they had finished their story, Percy swelled indignantly.**

**"Well, Mr. Crouch is quite right to get rid of an elf like that!" he said.**

"Yes a loyal caring one." The twins narrowed their eyes in anger. Percy flinched away, averting his eyes.

**"Running away when he'd expressly told her not to ... embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry ... how would that have looked, if she'd been had up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control -"**

**"She didn't do anything- she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Hermione snapped at Percy,**

"Agreed." The growls rung in Percy's ear and he gulped.

**who looked very taken aback. Hermione had always got on fairly well with Percy - better, indeed, than any of the others.**

"That's not saying much." Angelina pointed out.

**"Hermione, a wizard in Mr. Crouch's position can't afford a house-elf who's going to run amok with a wand!" said Percy pompously, recovering himself.**

**"She didn't run amok!" shouted Hermione. "She just picked it up off the ground!"**

"Once again she's right you pompous arse and that's saying it politely." Blaise growled. Hermione gently batted his shoulder.

**"Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was?" said Ron impatiently. "It wasn't hurting anyone... Why's it such a big deal?"**

**"I told you, it's You-Know-Who's symbol, Ron," said Hermione, before anyone else could answer.**

"Just because it's his symbol doesn't mean much, especially around Harry." Luna pointed out

**"I read about it in _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_."**

**"And it hasn't been seen for thirteen years," said Mr. Weasley quietly.** **"Of course people panicked ... it was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again." **

"No where near." Arthur corrected himself.

**"I don't get it," said Ron, frowning. "I mean ... it's still only a shape in the sky ..."**

**"Ron, You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed," said Mr. Weasley. "The terror it inspired... you have no idea, you're too young.**

"I hate it when people say that." Harry murmured, waking up though he looked like he could happily go back to the land of nod.

**Just picture coming home, and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside ..." Mr. Weasley winced.**

As did most people.

**"Everyone's worst fear ... the very worst ..."**

**There was silence for a moment. Then Bill, removing the sheet from his arm to check on his cut, said, "Well, it didn't help us tonight, whoever conjured it. It scared the Death Eaters away the moment they saw it.**

"They were terrified of the possibility and I'm not surprised." Harry looked vaguely sick and snuggled closer to his 'pillow'

**They all Disapparated before we'd got near enough to unmask any of them. We caught the Roberts' before they hit the ground, though.** **They're having their memories modified right now."**

"Memory mods." Lee wrinkled his nose.

**"Death Eaters?" said Harry. "What are Death Eaters?"**

**"It's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves," said Bill. "I think we saw what's left of them tonight - the ones who managed to keep themselves out of Azkaban, anyway."**

**"We can't prove it was them, Bill," said Mr. Weasley.** **"Though it probably was," he added hopelessly.**

People shivered thinking about how many of them there really were.

**"Yeah, I bet it was!" said Ron suddenly. "Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods, and he as good as told us his dad was one of those nutters in masks! And we all know the Malfoys were right in with You-Know-Who!"**

"Yeah but he'd want to scare you anyway, when you think about it."

"I won't deny it."

"Dra." Harry groaned.

**"But what were Voldemort's supporters -" Harry began.**

**Everybody flinched - like most in the wizarding world, the Weasleys always avoided saying Voldemort's name.**

"A bloody made up one." Gabriel groaned, waking but not moving, she looked tired as well.

**"Sorry," said Harry quickly. "What were You-Know-Who's supporters up to, levitating Muggles? I mean, what's the point?"**

**"The point?" said Mr Weasley, with a hollow laugh. "Harry, that's their idea of fun.**

Five whistles joined the air and people cringed away from the angels at that. Finally they were all awake looking exhausted and like they'd kill whoever made a loud noise.

**Half the Muggle killings back when You-Know-Who was in power were done for fun.** **I suppose they had a few drinks tonight and couldn't resist reminding us all that lots of them are still at large. A nice little reunion for them," he finished disgustedly.**

A few noises agree to that emtion.

**"But if they _were_ Death Eaters, why did they Disapparate when they saw the Dark Mark?" said Ron. "They'd have been pleased to see it, wouldn't they?"**

**"Use your brains, Ron," said Bill. **

"What brains?" A few people quipped getting chuckles.

**"If they really were Death Eaters, they worked really hard to keep out of Azkaban when You-Know-Who lost power, and told all sorts of lies about him forcing them to kill and torture people.**

"Which is exactly what he'd do to them." Harry muttered, cringing.

**I bet they'd be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they'd ever been involved with him when he'd lost his powers, and went back to their daily lives... I don't reckon he'd be over-pleased with them, do you?"**

And the Boy-Who-Lived gave a dark chuckle.

**"So ... whoever conjured the Dark Mark ..." said Hermione slowly, "were they doing it to show support for the Death Eaters, or to scare them away?"**

**"Your guess is as good as ours, Hermione," said Mr Weasley. "But I'll tell you this... it was only the Death Eaters who ever knew how to conjure it. **

"That's a lie, James could do it." Remus threw in.

"Yeah figured it out, we use to use it to make it seem like an Order member had disappeared." Sirius added.

**I'd be very surprised if the person who did it hadn't been a Death Eater once, even if they're not now...** **Listen, it's very late, and if your mother hears what's happened she'll be worried sick.**

"Any mother would be, I know I was." Andromeda sighed.

**We'll get a few more hours' sleep and then try and get an early Portkey out of here."**

**Three days ago - it felt like much longer, but it had only been three days - he had awoken with his scar burning. And tonight, for the first time in thirteen years, Lord Voldemort's Mark had appeared in the sky.**

**What did these things mean?**

"And your starting to spot it." Moody gave a twisted smile.

**He thought of the letter he had written to Sirius before leaving Privet Drive.**

**Would Sirius have answered it yet? When would he reply?**

"Soon as I could." Sirius smiled.

**Harry lay looking up at the canvas, but no flying fantasies came to him now to ease him to sleep, and it was a long time after Charlie's snores filled the tent that Harry finally dozed off.**

"Chapter." Draco announced.

"Well those were long chapters so Lunch I think." Dumbledore smiled.


	13. Ashlyn's story

Everyone started eating then the group went for a walk by the lake.

"Ashlyn." Hermione gapped at the twins for not showing more respect. "Why did you react so badly to the way Winky was being treated." Ashlyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath but did start to tell them her story.

"In Greece it was common for girls to be sold off at a young age for marriage, I was sold off at seventeen, surprisingly late for us. My husband." She spat the word. "Often beat me and treated me as he would one of the slaves, one day he went to far, I was near dead because I'd spoken up. Apollo found me, nearly killed my husband, in turn and brought me to Olympus, he was going to be sent to Tartarus for doing so." Lucifer weaved his fingers into the gods, giving a gentle squeeze. "But Gabriel stepped in and almost destroyed the council, though never told me why." She looked at the archangel who merely smiled, making beautiful eyes roll to Zeus' domain. "And Apollo convinced them to turn me into a goddess and there you have it."

Almost everyone had hung their heads and the twins, out of instinct stepped either side of Ashlyn, slipping their arms around her waist and she blushed with a grin while a little plan formulated in Gabriel's mind, assuming all went well, she really did need some help in heaven and she'd love nothing more than to have two more tricksters running around, but alas, that was for another time.

"So how are things going?" Harry turned towards them from where he was tucked under his boyfriends arm.

"Badly, people don't realize the shear number of monsters that exist in greek myth and it is thousands, the issue is that the Titans are also involved while most gods can't fight because they to busy and our darling father."

"Never thought you be sarcastic while saying that."

"Shut it Lucifer. Is keeping ever angel he can busy so it's about ten of us angel wise and another fifteen gods, non of them Olmpians." Michael finished explaining.

"We are exhausted, I thought fighting the Leviathans was hard." Gabriel whined making them all chuckle, well most.

"Nothing we can do?" Charlie asked but the 'higher-beings' shook their heads, as they'd all expected.

"Just try and keep yourselves safe." Azrael told them, he looked like he was gonna drop dead. "And I'm going to go visit Hermes for a bit so see ya."

"Have fun." Gabriel laughed just as the sound of wings faded, the other three laughing.

"We should get back inside I thinks." Daphne sighed and they all trudged back up to the castles, the angels waving and disappearing wings rustling.


	14. Mayhem At The Ministry

**A/N: Okay, if you haven't guessed I am not being kind to the Christian religion, or any religion that worships one god, that is because I am pagan, though love angels, so be warned that I will be anything but nice in this chapter and later one. I admit I am taking this to extremes but I call it creative license to make the story fit and while I do not believe in god the slagging off is purely for the story. **

**CHAPTER TEN - MAYHEM AT THE MINISTRY **Apollo decided to read and the girls were swooning.

**Mr. Weasley woke them after only a few hours' sleep.**

"Two days in a row." Ron groaned pathetically.

**He used magic to pack up the tents, and they left the campsite as quickly as possible,**

"Don't blame ya."

**passing Mr. Roberts at the door of his cottage. Mr. Roberts had a strange, dazed look about him, and he waved them off with a vague "Merry Christmas".**

Several people laughed while others looked concerned.

**"He'll be all right," said Mr. Weasley quietly, as they marched off onto the moor.**

Sighs of relief.

**"Sometimes, when a person's memory's modified, it makes them a bit disorientated for a while...**

A few of the younger Ravens perked up at the new information.

**and that was a big thing they had to make him forget."**

**They heard urgent voices as they approached the spot where the Portkeys lay, and when they reached it, they found a great number of witches and wizards gathered around Basil, the keeper of the Portkeys, all clamouring to get away from the campsite as quickly as possible.**

"They realize by doing that it's just going to take longer right?"

"Would you if you were that panicked?"

**Mr. Weasley had a hurried discussion with Basil; they joined the queue, and were able to take an old rubber tyre back to Stoatshead Hill before the sun had really risen.**

**They walked back through Ottery St. Catchpole towards The Burrow in the dawn light, talking very little because they were so exhausted,**

"Harry was dead on his feet." Bill muttered. "I nearly carried him."

"You aren't the only one." The twins and Charlie piped up.

**and thinking longingly of their breakfast.**

**As they rounded the corner in the lane and The Burrow came into view, a cry echoed along the damp lane.**

**"Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness!" Mrs. Weasley, who had evidently been waiting for them in the front yard,**

"Mum was waiting for me in the hall way with the front door open." Tonks informed and Sirius rubbed Andi's shoulder in reassurance.

**came running towards them, still wearing her bedroom slippers, her face pale and strained, a screwed-up copy of the Daily Prophet**** clutched in her hand.**

"Oh No!" If they remembered the article they said it.

**"Arthur - I've been so worried - so worried**** -"**

**She flung her arms around Mr. Weasley's neck, and the Daily Prophet**** fell out of her limp hand onto the ground. Looking down, Harry saw the headline: SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP, complete with a twinkling, black-and-white photograph of the Dark Mark over the tree-tops.**

"What a way to scare people." Bathsheda, Rolanda, Septima and Aurora shivered.

**"You're all right," Mrs. Weasley muttered distractedly, releasing Mr. Weasley and staring around at them all with red eyes, "you're alive ... oh, boys**** ..."**

**And to everybody's surprise, she seized Fred and George and pulled them both into such a tight hug their heads banged together.**

Said Weasley's rubbed their head where they'd connected.

**"Ouch!**** Mum - you're strangling us -"**

**"I shouted at you before you left!" Mrs. Weasley said, starting to sob."It's all I've been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and that last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough OWL's? **

Every mother in the hall winced.

**Oh, Fred ... George ..."**

**"Come on, now, Molly, we're all perfectly OK," said Mr. Weasley soothingly, prising her off the twins and leading her back towards the house.**

"Thank you." Arthur just chuckled at the two.

**"Bill," he added in an undertone, "pick up that paper, I want to see what it says ..."**

**When they were all crammed into the tiny kitchen, and Hermione had made Mrs. Weasley a cup of very strong tea, into which Mr. Weasley insisted on pouring a shot of Ogden's Old Firewisky,**

"Smart Idea." Pomona muttered.

**Bill handed his father the newspaper. Mr. Weasley scanned the front page while Percy looked over his shoulder.**

**"I knew it," said Mr. Weasley heavily. "Ministry blunders...culprits not apprehended... lax security...Dark wizards running unchecked... national disgrace****...**

"Wonder who wrote that?" McGonagall said scathingly.

**Who wrote this? Ah... of course...**

"Rita Skeeter!" Everyone called at the same time, no one liked her.

**"That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!" said Percy furiously.**

**"Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness,when we should be stamping out vampires!**

Emerald eyes narrowed and an angry wave came off him.

**As if it wasn't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans -****"**

**"Do us a favour, Perce," said Bill, yawning, "and shut up."**

"Yeah!" Looked like Bill just earned brownie points.

**"I'm mentioned," said Mr. Weasley, his eyes widening behind his glasses as he reached the bottom of the Daily Prophet**** article.**

"You were?" People said perking up slightly, they didn't remember that.

**"Where?" spluttered Mrs. Weasley, choking on her tea and whisky. "If I'd seen that, I'd have known you were alive!"**

**"Not by name," said Mr. Weasley.**

"Ah!"

**"Listen to this: '****If the terrified wizards and witches who waited breathlessly for news at the edge of the wood expected reassurance from the Ministry of Magic, they were sadly disappointed.**

"Of course they were, not, that's just you causing trouble." Susan growled surprising people. "The angels rub off on you." She shrugged.

**A Ministry official emerged some time after the appearance of the Dark Mark, alleging that nobody had been hurt, but refusing to give any more information. Whether this statement will be enough to quash the rumours that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later, remains to be seen****'**

"Only because you printed it." Michael C, Terry and Anthony all said.

"You think something's going on with those three?" Lavender mused.

"No Idea." Pavarti muttered back.

"Yes." Padma whispered. "You've never seen them when they're drunk." That put an idea in their heads.

"**Oh, really," said Mr Weasley in exasperation, handing the paper to Percy.**

**"Nobody was**** hurt, what was I supposed to say?**

**"That's the truth." Arthur sighed. **

**Rumours that several bodies were removed from the woods... ****well, there certainly will be rumours now she's printed that."**

The Ravenclaw trio shivered in disgust

**He heaved a deep sigh. "Molly, I'm going to have to go into the office, this is going to take some smoothing over."**

**"I'll come with you, Father," said Percy importantly.**

"Yeah, yeah, I know I was a prat." Percy said before anyone else could.

**"Mr. Crouch will need all hands on deck. And I can give him my cauldron report in person." He bustled out of the kitchen.**

**Mrs Weasley looked most upset.**

**"Arthur, you're supposed to be on holiday! This hasn't got anything to do with your office, surely they can handle this without you?"**

"Sorry Molly but we really needed all hands on deck with things." Amelia sighed, rubbing her neck.

**"I've got to go, Molly," said Mr Weasley, "I've made things worse.**

"No Skeeter did, not you." Harry said firmly and many agreed.

**I'll just change into my robes and I'll be off ..."**

**"Mrs. Weasley," said Harry suddenly, unable to contain himself,** **"Hedwig hasn't been with a letter for me, has she?"**

"Sorry it took so long pup, is was in Australia and she need to rest for a bit as well." Harry waved it off as Sirius grinned at him.

**"Hedwig, dear?" said Mrs. Weasley distractedly. "No ...no, there hasn't been any post at all."**

**Ron and Hermione looked curiously at Harry.**

**With a meaningful look at both of them he said, "All right if I go and dump my stuff in your room, Ron?"**

"You know Harry you really have no choice in career anymore because we are going to make sure you can be an Auror." Kingsley said in his normal tone while Tonks laughed.

**"Yeah ... think I will, too," said Ron at once. "Hermione?"**

**"Yes," she said quickly, and the three of them marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs.**

**"What's up, Harry?" said Ron, the moment they had closed the door of the attic room behind them.**

"You silence the room first." Tonks groaned, her head dropping into her hands.

**"There's something I haven't told you," Harry said. "On Sunday morning, I woke up with my scar hurting again."**

**Ron and Hermione's reactions were almost exactly as Harry had imagined them back in Privet Drive.**

Theo couldn't help snort which got him a gentle nudge in the ribs and slight, but mostly amused, reprimanding glare. The Slytherin just grabbed his waist pulling him close and kissing him deeply. Could have gone a little less appropriate though ever every second and first year had turned away from the scene blushing but McGonagall cleared her throat.

"I'd apologies but I'm not sorry." Harry hit him gently but looked as if he agreed.

**Hermione gasped and started making suggestions at once, mentioning a number of reference books, and everybody from Albus Dumbledore to Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts matron.**

**Ron simply looked dumbstruck.**

"He always looks like that." The twins teased to laughs.

"Shut up." It's in the books enough, you don't need me to give you the details.

**"But - he wasn't there, was he? You-Know-Who? I mean - last time your scar kept hurting, he was at Hogwarts, wasn't he?"**

**"I'm sure he wasn't in Privet Drive," said Harry. "But I was dreaming about him... him and Wormtail - you know Wormtail.**

"How could we forget?" Hermione shivered slightly so Blaise pulled her closer.

**I can't remember all of it now, but they were plotting to kill ... someone."**

**He had teetered for a moment on the verge of saying "me", but he couldn't bring himself to make Hermione look any more horrified than she already did.**

"Thanks Harry, I don't think I could have coped with that just after the World Cup." Harry waved it away with an easy smile.

**"It was only a dream," said Ron bracingly. "Just a nightmare."**

**"Yeah, but was it, though?" said Harry, turning to look out of the window at the brightening sky. "It's weird, isn't it ... my scar hurts, and three days later the Death Eaters are on the march, and Voldemort's sign's up in the sky again."**

"Shacklebolt's right lad, you don't have a choice." Moody grunted.

**"Don't - say - his - name!" Ron hissed through gritted teeth.**

The youngest Weasley boy shrugged sheepishly.

**"And remember what Professor Trelawney said?" Harry went on, ignoring Ron."At the end of last year?"**

**Hermione's terrified look vanished as she let out a derisive snort. "Oh, Harry, you aren't going to pay any attention to anything that old fraud says?"**

"You'd be surprised and you'd do well not to insult someone I blessed." Apollo told her evenly. He suddenly gave a blinding smile and sunk back next to Lucifer, where gods bi-polar?

**"You weren't there," said Harry. "You didn't hear her. This time was different. I told you, she went into a trance - a real one.**

"No doubt." A murmur came through the crowd.

**And she said the Dark Lord would rise again - greater and more terrible than ever before…** **and he'd manage it because his servant was going to go back to him ... and that night Wormtail escaped."**

A snarl echoed through the hall and some cringed back.

"Calm down, it's Gabriel, she's been listening, between the fighting and her father playing his cruel chess game with the Potters she's getting a bit edgy." Ashlyn explained.

"Potters?" Hermione looked at her curiously.

"This started with James, not only where most of the archangels." Lucifer cleared his throat. " All the archangels friends with him Michael cared a little more then he should so when James was killed Michael was both heartbroken and cast out." Ashlyn explained.

"And our father didn't stop there when Gabriel spoke up and was cast out he was the one who fed her Unicorn blood because it affected her in a way that her memories and therefore her powers wouldn't return because they were triggered by emotion." Lucifer explained further.

"You know our fathers are a lot alike." Apollo muttered to him.

**There was a silence in which Ron fidgeted absent-mindedly with a hole in his Chudley Cannons bedspread.**

**"Why were you asking if Hedwig had come, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Are you expecting a letter?"**

**"I told Sirius about my scar," said Harry shrugging.** **"I'm waiting for his answer."**

"Being a Black he is one of the best to do it." Andromeda admitted, weather you liked it or not you learned these things.

**"Good thinking!" said Ron, his expression clearing. "I bet Sirius'll know what to do!"**

**"I hoped he'd get back to me quickly," said Harry.**

**"But we don't know where Sirius is ... he could be in Africa or somewhere, couldn't he?" said Hermione reasonably.**

"Didn't stop me hoping." Harry muttered to himself, well into his boyfriends neck where he was mercilessly teasing him by licking his so his tongue skimmed the pale throat.

**"Hedwig's not going to manage that journey in a few days."**

**"Yeah, I know," said Harry, but there was a laden feeling in his stomach as he looked out of the window at the Hedwig-free sky.**

"Of course you missed her to." Hermione said slapping her forehead.

**"Come and have a game of Quidditch in the orchard, Harry," said Ron.**

"**Come on - three on three, Bill, Charlie and Fred and George will play ... you can try out the Wronski Feint ..."**

People grinned, he wouldn't need practice, he'd get it first time.

**"Ron," said Hermione, in an I-don't-think-you're-being-very-sensitive sort of voice, "Harry doesn't want to play Quidditch right now ... he's worried, and he's tired ... we all need to go to bed ..."**

**"Yeah, I want to play Quidditch," said Harry suddenly."Hang on, I'll get my Firebolt."**

"Well now I know what you think, or don't when your slying it makes sense now." She muttered.

**Hermione left the room, muttering something which sounded very much like "Boys".**

**Neither Mr. Weasley nor Percy was at home much over the following week.**

**Both left the house each morning before the rest of the family got up, and returned well after dinner every night.**

All and I repeat all Ministry members flinched.

**"It's been an absolute uproar," Percy told them importantly,**

"Apparently he's been like that all summer according to Harry." Bill muttered under his breath.

**the Sunday evening before they were due to return to Hogwarts.**

**"I've been putting out fires all week. People keep sending Howlers and of course, if you don't open a Howler straight away, it explodes.**

A few people laughed at that.

**Scorch marks all over my desk and my best quill reduced to cinders."**

And a few more.

**"Why are they all sending Howlers?" asked Ginny,** **who was mending her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi with Spellotape on the rug in front of the living-room fire.**

The Weasley's blushed but no one paid it any mind, or didn't let on they did, Pansy did not want to look and sound like Ginny.

**"Complaining about security at the World Cup," said Percy. "They want compensation for their ruined property.**

**Mundungus Fletcher's put in a claim for a twelve-bedroomed tent with en-suite Jacuzzi, but I've got his number. I know for a fact he was sleeping under a cloak propped on sticks."**

"How did he even get tickets?" Ron asked.

"Either stole them, or bought them with dirty money." Sirius shrugged, not concerned, Dung was mostly harmless,

**Mrs. Weasley glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner.**

**Harry liked this clock. It was completely useless if you wanted to know the time,**

"Then it's not a clock."

"Smith shut it, or do you want to be thrown into a snake pit." Draco snapped, then went back to silently snickering at his fellow Slytherin who was being tortured in a very unusual way by a, was thought to be innocent Lion.

**but otherwise very informative.**

**It had nine golden hands, and each of them was engraved with one of the Weasley family's names. There were no numerals around the face, but descriptions of where each family member might be. "Home", "school" and "work" were there, but there was also "lost", "hospital, "prison" and, in the position where the number twelve would be on a normal clock, "mortal peril".**

_Let's hope the last is never used. _

**Eight of the hands were currently pointing at the "home" position, but Mr. Weasley's, which was the longest, was still pointing at "work". Mrs. Weasley sighed.**

**"Your father hasn't had to go into the office at weekends since the days of You-Know-Who," she said.**

"He really does need a pay rise." Amelia hissed to the minister who nodded quietly, smartly agreeing, having already guessed that the screw up with Black would get him kicked out of office.

**"They're working him far too hard. His dinner's going to be ruined if he doesn't come home soon."**

**"Well, Father feels he's got to make up for his mistake at the match, doesn't he?" said Percy.**

**"If truth be told, he was a tad unwise to make a public statement without clearing it with his Head of Department first -"**

Glares slowly turned to him. Now my dears, relax and I'd like you to imagine a dark, glaring dolls head slowly turning towards you. That on mass is what Percy was going through.

**"Don't you dare blame your father for what that wretched Skeeter woman wrote!" said Mrs. Weasley, flaring up at once.**

"And yet you believed her later that year." Harry mumbled but didn't move away from his mission of driving his boyfriend insane, at this rate he'd be done by the end of the chapter.

**"If Dad hadn't said anything, old Rita would just have said it was disgraceful that nobody from the Ministry had commented," said Bill,** **who was playing chess with Ron. "Rita Skeeter never makes anyone look good.** **Remember, she interviewed all the Gringotts' curse breakers once, and called me a 'long-haired pillock'?"**

Fleur's bright eyes narrowed at that.

**"Well, it is a bit long, dear," said Mrs Weasley gently. "If you'd just let me -"**

**"No, Mum."**

**Rain lashed against the living-room window. Hermione was immersed in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, copies of which Mrs Weasley had bought for her, Harry and Ron in Diagon Alley. Charlie was darning a fireproof balaclava. Harry was polishing his Firebolt, the Broomstick Servicing Kit Hermione had given him for his thirteenth birthday open at his feet.**

"Seems normal, so what's out of place?" McGonagall asked and the blond god just read in answer.

**Fred and George were sitting in a far corner, quills out, talking in whispers, their heads bent over a piece of parchment.**

**"What are you two up to?" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, her eyes on the twins.**

**"Homework," said Fred vaguely.**

"What!?" The hall screamed and very high pitched.

"If you wouldn't mind." Remus winced and they muttered apologies.

**"Don't be ridiculous, you're still on holiday," said Mrs. Weasley.**

**"Yeah, we've left it a bit late," said George.**

**"You're not by any chance writing out a new order form, are you?" said Mrs. Weasley shrewdly.**

Griffins cheered.

**"You wouldn't be thinking of restarting Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, by any chance?"**

**"Now, Mum," said Fred, looking up at her, a pained look in his face. "If the Hogwarts Express crashed tomorrow, and George and I died, how would you feel knowing that the last thing we ever heard from you was an unfounded accusation?"**

The hall bust out laughing, well most of it because a certain Slytherin was biting his lip while other tried not burst out laughing at him.

**Everyone laughed, even Mrs. Weasley.**

**"Oh, your father's coming!" she said suddenly, looking up at the clock again.**

**Mr. Weasley's hand had suddenly gone from 'work' to 'traveling';** **a second later it had shuddered to a halt on 'home' with the others, and they heard him calling from the kitchen.**

"That is a really cool clock." Dennis was wide eyed.

**"Coming Arthur!" called Mrs. Weasley, hurrying out of the room.**

**A few moments later, Mr. Weasley had come into the warm living room, carrying his dinner on a tray. He looked completely exhausted.**

"We all were." Tonks groaned.

**"Well, the fat's really in the fire now," he told Mrs Weasley** **as he sat down in an armchair near the fire and toyed unenthusiastically with his somewhat shrivelled cauliflower. "Rita Skeeter's**

Hisses filled the hall and Harry whispered something in Theo's ear, making him shiver in pleasure and before anyone could say anything he grabbed Harry in a bridal hold and walked out. After a minute of shock and the two disappearing the hall burst into laughter, guessing what they were doing, well the older ones anyway.

**been ferreting about all week, looking for more Ministry mess-ups to report.** **And now she's found out about poor old Bertha going missing, so that'll be the headline in the Prophet tomorrow. I told Bagman he should have sent someone to look for her ages ago."**

**"Mr. Crouch has been saying it for weeks and weeks," said Percy swiftly.**

"Not because he cares." Hermione muttered very quietly.

**"Crouch is very lucky Rita hasn't found out about Winky," said Mr. Weasley irritably.**

Silent cheers, at least they were at first.

**"There'd be a week's worth of headlines in his house-elf being caught holding the wand that conjured the Dark Mark."**

**"I thought we were all agreed that the elf, while irresponsible, did not conjure the Mark," said Percy hotly.**

"And I thought we agreed no matter how well you did you're a prat." The twins said in perfect time.

**"If you ask me, Mr. Crouch is very lucky no one at the Daily Prophet knows how mean he is to elves!" said Hermione angrily.**

"No one would care, it's the norm." Blaise whispered in her ear. "It may not be right but it is what it is."

**"Now look here, Hermione," said Percy.** **"A high-ranking Ministry official like Mr. Crouch deserves unwavering obedience from his servants -"**

**"His slave, you mean!" said Hermione, her voice rising shrilly. "Because he didn't pay Winky, did he?"**

"That's true but to them being allowed to work is payment." Minerva informed.

**"I think you'd all better go upstairs and check that you've packed properly!" said Mrs. Weasley, breaking up the argument.**

"That makes a change." Narcissa sniffed.

"You usually start them." Andromeda added.

"And then have to be the one." Sirius continued.

"Who finishes them." Tonks closed. Okay, never mess with the Blacks.

**"Come on, now, all of you ..."**

**Harry repacked his Broomstick Servicing Kit, put his Firebolt over his shoulder and went back upstairs with Ron.**

**The rain sounded even harder at the top of the house, accompanied by loud whistlings and moans from the wind, not to mention sporadic howls from the ghoul who lived in the attic.**

"Ah, the sound track to a horror, sounds like the fields of punishment." Apollo said with a surprisingly dark smile.

"Your allowed down there?" Ashlyn yelped. In reply he jerked his thumb to Lucifer who could easily get into the underworld.

**Pigwidgeon began twittering and zooming around his cage again when they entered. The sight of the half-packed trunks seemed to have sent him into a frenzy of excitment.**

"Worse than normal." Ron threw in.

**"Bung him some Owl Treats," said Ron, throwing a packet across to Harry, "it might shut him up."**

**Harry poked a few Owl Treats through the bars of Pigwidgeon's cage, then turned to his trunk. Hedwig's cage stood next to it, still empty.**

"Oh dear, he's starting to panic." Remus groaned.

**"It's been over a week," Harry said, looking at Hedwig's deserted perch. "Ron, you don't reckon Sirius has been caught, do you?"**

**"Nah, it would've been in the Daily Prophet," said Ron. "The Ministry would want to show they'd caught someone, wouldn't they?"**

**"Yeah, I suppose ..."**

"No suppose about it." Sirius leaned back, letting his head lol to the side.

**"Look, here's the stuff Mum got for you in Diagon Alley. And she's got some gold out of your vault for you... and she's washed all your socks."**

"How did she get into his vault?" Sirius voiced.

"I gave her permission." Dumbledore said serenely.

"And even if you did get Harry to the Durslys his magical guardian was suppose to be Sev, it was agreed upon by Gringotts." Remus said with a deadly glare and the headmaster recoiled, a werewolf and a Black, if only there was a Potter in the room you'd have the worlds deadliest combination, forget Voldyshorts.

**He heaved a pile of parcels onto Harry's camp bed and dropped the money bag and a load of socks next to it. Harry started unwrapping the shopping. Apart from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, by Miranda Goshawk, he had a handful of new quills, a dozen rolls of parchment and refills for his potion-making kit - he had been running low on spine of lionfish and essence of belladonna.**

"We did use those a lot third year." Hermione mused.

"They are common ingredients in potions because they have a wide range of properties." Snape said smoothly.

**He was just piling underwear into his cauldron when Ron made a loud noise of disgust behind him.**

**"What is that supposed to be?"**

**He was holding up something that looked to Harry like a long, maroon velvet dress.**

Knowing exactly what it was they fell into laughter while other looked confused.

**It had a mouldy-looking lace frill at the collar and matching lace cuffs.**

**There was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Weasley entered, carrying an armful of freshly laundered Hogwarts robes.**

**"Here you are," she said, sorting them into two. "Now, mind you pack them properly so they don't crease."**

Of course she would say that, people were surprised she didn't pack them herself.

**"Mum, you've given me Ginny's new dress," said Ron, holding it out to her.**

**"Of course I haven't," said Mrs. Weasley. "That's for you. Dress robes."**

**"What?" said Ron, looking horror-struck.**

**"Dress robes!" repeated Mrs. Weasley. "It says on your school list that you're supposed to have dress robes this year... robes for formal occasions."**

"You know I wish we'd know what for then I could have picked for myself properly." Lavender gave a long suffering sigh that was ignored.

**"You've got to be kidding," said Ron in disbelief. "I'm not wearing that, no way."**

**"Everyone wears them, Ron!" said Mrs. Weasley crossly.**

**"They're all like that! Your father's got some for smart parties!"**

**"I'll go starkers before I put that on," said Ron stubbornly.**

"Or you didn't have to go." Fred told him and George agreed.

**"Don't be so silly," said Mrs. Weasley, "you've got to have dress robes, they're on your list! I got some for Harry, too... show him, Harry..."**

**With some trepidation, Harry opened the last parcel on his camp bed. It wasn't as bad as he had expected, however;his dress robes didn't have any lace on them at all; in fact, they were more or less the same as his school ones, except that they were bottle green instead of black.**

"To bring out his eyes." Remus and Sirius chuckled in time knowing that his grandmother would give James red tinted ones for the same reason.

**"I thought they'd bring out the colour of your eyes, dear," said Mrs. Weasley fondly.**

**"Well, they're OK!" said Ron angrily, looking at Harry's robes. "Why couldn't I have some like that?"**

**"Because ... well, I had to get yours second-hand and there wasn't a lot of choice!" said Mrs. Weasley, flushing.**

"Nothing to be embarrassed about." Someone muttered.

"Why were Fred and Georges not like that?" Alicia piped.

"We begged Charlie and Bill and we'd pay them back but they said take them as early Christmas presents." Once again in perfect sync.

**Harry looked away. He would willingly have split all the money in his Gringotts vault with the Weasleys,** **but he knew they would never take it.**

**"I'm never wearing them," Ron was saying stubbornly. "Never."**

**"Fine," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "Go naked. And Harry, make sure you get a picture of him. Goodness knows I could do with a laugh."**

More people burst out laughing and cheered.

**She left the room, slamming the door behind her.**

**There was a funny noise from behind them. Pigwidgeon was choking on an overlarge Owl Treat.**

**"Why is everything I own rubbish?" said Ron furiously, striding across the room to un-stick Pigwidgeon's beak.**

No one had any comment except.

"Chapter." And the God dumped it in the angels lap who held it up to read.


	15. Aboard The Hogwarts Express

**CHAPTER ELEVEN - ****ABOARD THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS **Lucifer started to cheers, chuckling under his breath.

**There was a definite end-of-the-holidays gloom in the air when Harry awoke the next morning. **

**Heavy rain was still splattering against the window as he got dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt;**

"Great start to the year." The twins smirked.

**they would change into their school robes on the Hogwarts Express.**

**He, Ron, Fred and George had just reached the first-floor landing on their way down to breakfast, when Mrs. Weasley appeared at the foot of the stairs looking harassed.**

**"Arthur!" she called up the staircase, "Arthur! Urgent message from the Ministry!"**

"What is it this time." Someone muttered while Moody's non magical eye darkened.

**Harry flattened himself against the wall as Mr. Weasley came clattering past with his robes on back-to-front and hurtled out of** sight.

_Not hard to do. _A few snickered to themselves.

**When Harry and the others entered the kitchen, they saw Mrs. Weasley rummaging anxiously in the dresser drawers - "I've got a quill here somewhere!" **

**- and Mr. Weasley bending over the fire, talking to -**

**Harry shut his eyes hard and opened them again to make sure that they were working properly.**

"Oh, what's he going to come up with for this." Charlie chuckled.

**Amos Diggory's ****head was sitting in the middle of the flames like a large bearded egg.**

If you weren't in shock from in the flames you were laughing your head off though Amos looked put out.

**It was talking very fast, completely unperturbed by the sparks flying around it and the flames licking its ears.**

**"... Muggle neighbours heard bangs and shouting, so they went and called those what-d'you-call-'ems - please-men.**

"Policemen." The muggle raised sighed.

**Arthur, you've got to get over there -" **

**"Here!" said Mrs. Weasley breathlessly, pushing a piece of parchment, a bottle of ink and a crumpled quill into Mr. Weasley's hands.**

**"- it's a real stroke of luck I heard about it," said Mr. Diggory's head, "I had to come into the office early to send a couple of owls, and I found the Improper Use of Magic lot all setting off - if Rita Skeeter gets hold of this one, Arthur -"**

"We're screwed." Tonks suggested helpfully.

**"What does Mad-Eye say happened?" asked Mr. Weasley, unscrewing the ink bottle, loading up his quill and preparing to take notes. **

**Mr. Diggory's head rolled its eyes. "Says he heard an intruder in his yard. Says they were creeping towards the house, but they were ambushed by his** dustbins."

"Just because he may mistake some things doesn't mean he can't spot the real thing." Bill said under his breath.

**"What did the dustbins do?" asked Mr. Weasley, scribbling frantically.**

**"Made one hell of a noise and fired rubbish everywhere, as far as I can tell," said Mr. Diggory.**

"Cool." The remaining fifth year boys called, getting laughs from others.

**"Apparently one of them was still rocketing around when the please-men turned up -"**

**Mr. Weasley groaned. "And what about the intruder?"**

**"Arthur, you know Mad-Eye," said Mr. Diggory's head, rolling its eyes** **again. **

"And he's a great Auror if paraniod and has ever right to be." Vanessa glared at her husbands, looks like two months on the couch.

**"Someone creeping in his yard at the dead of night? More likely there's a shell-shocked cat wandering around somewhere, covered in potato peelings. **

You had to snort, come on, you had to.

**But if the Improper Use of Magic lot get their hands on Mad-Eye, he's had it - think of his record –**

He rightly cringed away from the infamous Auror.

**we've got to get him off on a minor charge, something in your department - what are exploding dustbins worth?" **

**"Might be a caution," said Mr. Weasley, still writing very fast, his brow furrowed. "Mad-Eye didn't use his wand? He didn't actually attack anyone?"**

The Auror's couldn't help snorting.

**"I'll bet he leapt out of bed and started jinxing everything he could reach through the window," said Mr. Diggory,**

"You now he's right mad-eye." Tonks just smiled at her mentor.

**"but they'll have a job proving it, there aren't any casualties."**

**Mr. Diggory's head looked around at Mrs. Weasley.**

**"Sorry about this, Molly," it said, more calmly,**

"Always remember to apologize." Amos nodded firmly and winced, thinking of when he hadn't.

**"bothering you so early and everything... but Arthur's the only one who can get Mad-Eye off, and Mad-Eye's supposed to be starting his new job today. Why he had to choose last night..."**

"That was the point." Minerva said to herself.

**"Never mind, Amos," said Mrs. Weasley. "Sure you won't have a bit of toast or anything before you go?" **

**"Oh, go on then," said Mr. Diggory.**

**Mrs. Weasley took a piece of buttered toast from a stack ****on the kitchen table, put it into the fire tongs and transferred it into Mr. Diggory's mouth.**

"That could be used as post." Someone mused.

**"Fanks," he said in a muffled voice, and then, with a small **_**pop**_**, vanished. **

**Harry could hear Mr. Weasley calling hurried goodbyes to Bill, Charlie, Percy and the girls. Within five minutes, he was back in the kitchen, his robes the right way now,**

A few snickered.

**dragging a comb through his hair.**

**"I'd better hurry - you have a good term, boys," said Mr. Weasley to Harry, Ron and the twins, dragging a cloak over his shoulders and preparing to Disapparate. "Molly, are you going to be all right taking the kids to King's Cross?"**

**"Of course I will," she said. "You just look after Mad-Eye, we'll be fine."**

"We were there."

"We're not chopped liver."

"Well..."

"Shut it you two." Charlie and Bill snapped in time.

**As Mr Weasley vanished, Bill and Charlie entered the kitchen. **

**"Did someone say Mad-Eye?" Bill asked. "What's he been up to now?"**

**"He says someone tried to break into his house last night," said Mrs. Weasley.**

"More than tried."

**"Mad-Eye Moody?" said George thoughtfully, ****spreading marmalade on his toast. "Isn't he that nutter -"**

**"Your father thinks very highly of Mad-Eye Moody," said Mrs. Weasley sternly.**

"Same for Dumbledore and he's a lunatic." Draco said plainly and his mother agreed.

**"Yeah, well, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he?" said Fred quietly, as Mrs. Weasley left the room. "Birds of a feather..."**

**"**That to." Blaise agreed.

**"Moody was a great wizard in his time," said Bill. **

**"He's an old friend of Dumbledore's isn't he?" said Charlie.**

**"Dumbledore's not what you'd call **_**normal**_**, though, is he?" said Fred.**

"Someone else sees it then."

**"I mean, I know he's a genius and everything..." **

**"Who **_**is**_** Mad-Eye?" asked Harry."**

**"He's retired, used to work at the Ministry," said Charlie. ****"I met him once when Dad took me into work with him. He was an Auror - one of the best ... a Dark-wizard catcher," he added, seeing Harry's blank look.**

"They really should teach these things to muggle raised." Hermione sighed.

**"Half the cells in Azkaban are full because of him. ****He made himself loads of enemies, though... the families of people he caught, mainly... ****and I heard he's been getting really paranoid in his old age.**

"Don't blame him." Most people chorused with whistles.

**Doesn't trust anyone anymore. Sees Dark wizards everywhere." **

**Bill and Charlie decided to come and see everyone off at King's Cross station, but Percy, apologizing most profusely, said that he really needed to get to work. **

**"I just can't justify taking more time off at the moment," he told them. "Mr. Crouch is really starting to rely on me."**

"I reckon he'd know your name soon." Sirius smirked making Lucifer laugh.

**"Yeah, you know what, Percy?" said George seriously. "I reckon he'll know your name soon."**

The entire hall was rolling across the floor as George cheered.

**Mrs Weasley had braved the telephone in the village Post Office to order three ordinary Muggle taxis to take them to London.**

**"Arthur tried to borrow Ministry cars for us," Mrs. Weasley whispered to Harry as they stood in the rain-washed yard, watching the taxi drivers heaving six heavy Hogwarts trunks into their cars.**

The muggle raised winced.

**"But there weren't any to spare... oh dear, they don't look happy, do they?"****  
**

**Harry didn't like to tell Mrs. Weasley that Muggle taxi drivers rarely transported owls, and Pigwidgeon was making an ear-splitting racket.**

"No one likes dealing with Pig."

**Nor did it help that a number of Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous No-Heat, Wet-Start Fireworks went off unexpectedly when Fred's trunk sprang open, causing the driver carrying it to yell with fright and pain as Crookshanks clawed his way up the man's leg.**

"Crookshanks needs a leash." Ron muttered.

"Well he doesn't like you either." Hermione retorted.

"We know Crookshanks isn't that bad but maybe you should try to have a little more control over him." Blaise said in a soothing voice and Hermione nodded.

**The journey was uncomfortable, owing to the fact that they were jammed in the back of the taxis with their trunks. Crookshanks took quite a while to recover from the fireworks, and by the time they entered London, Harry, Ron and Hermione were all severely scratched.**

"Devil cat." Fred joked.

**They were very relieved to get out at King's Cross, even though the rain was coming down harder than ever, and they got soaked carrying their trunks across the busy road and into the station. **

**Harry was used to getting onto platform nine and three-quarters by now. **

Ginny's appearance clearly screamed how?

**It was a simple matter of walking straight through the apparently solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. The only tricky part was doing this in an unobtrusive way, so as to avoid attracting Muggle attention. They did it in groups today; Harry, Ron and Hermione (the most conspicuous, as they were accompanied by Pigwidgeon and Crookshanks)****went first; they leant casually against the barrier, chatting unconcernedly, and slid sideways through it ...**

"Not bad." Someone muttered.

"Try just talking and one of you walking backwards worked well." Remus told only the group.

**and as they did so, platform nine and three-quarters materialized in front of them.**

**The Hogwarts Express, gleaming scarlet steam engine, was already there, clouds of steam billowing from it, through which many Hogwarts students and parents on the platform appeared like dark ghosts. Pigwidgeon became noisier than ever in response to the hooting of many owls through the mist.**

**Harry, Ron and Hermione set off to find seats, and were soon stowing their luggage in a compartment halfway along the train.**

"Not to busy then." Someone muttered.

**They then hopped back down onto the platform, to say goodbye to Mrs Weasley, Bill and Charlie.**

**"I might be seeing you all sooner than you think," said Charlie, grinning, as he hugged Ginny goodbye.**

**"Why?" said Fred keenly. **

**"You'll see," said Charlie. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it...**

Said person glared at his brother.

**it's 'classified information until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it', after all."**  
**  
"Yeah, I sort of wish I was back at Hogwarts this year," said Bill, hands in his pockets, looking almost wistfully at the train. **

**"**_**Why?**_**" said George impatiently. **

**"You're going to have an interesting year," said Bill, his eyes twinkling.**

"I really hated you at that moment." Ron told them plainly.

**"I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it..." **

**"A bit of **_**what?**_**" said Ron.**

**But at that moment, the whistle blew,**

The younger Weasley's glared at their two oldest siblings who smiled back in false innocence.

**and Mrs. Weasley chivvied them towards the train doors. **

**"Thanks for having us to stay, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione, as they climbed on board, closed the door and leant out of the window to talk to her.**

**"Yeah, thanks for everything, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.**

"Always so polite." The twins cooed.

**"Oh, it was my pleasure, dears," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'd invite you for Christmas, ****but... well, I expect you're all going to want to stay at Hogwarts, what with... one thing and another."**

**"Mum!" said Ron irritably. "What d'you three know that we don't?"**

"A lot." The eldest two chorused.

**"You'll find out this evening, I expect," said Mrs Weasley, smiling. ****"It's going to be very exciting - mind you, I'm very glad they've changed the rules -"**

**"What rules?" said Harry, Ron, Fred and George together.**

"That was creepy." Hermione shuddered.

"You should see it when five angels do it." Ashlyn smirked.

**"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will tell you ... now, behave, won't you? **_**Won't**_** you, Fred? And you, George?"**

**The pistons hissed loudly, and the train began to move. **

**"Tell us what's happening at Hogwarts!" Fred bellowed out of the window, as Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Charlie sped away from them. "What rules are they changing?" **

**But Mrs Weasley only smiled and waved. Before the train had rounded the corner, she, Bill and Charlie had Disapparated.**

"They shouldn't have brought it back." Sirius said firmly and people looked at him in shock. "Don't give me that, it was dangerous and my pup got dragged into it." He said firmly.

**Harry, Ron and Hermione went back to their compartment. The thick rain splattering the windows made it difficult to see out of them. Ron undid his trunk, pulled out his maroon dress robes, and flung them over Pigwidgeon's cage to muffle his hooting.**

"Not the best choice." Daphne snickered as did the other Slytherins.

**"Bagman wanted to tell us what's happening at Hogwarts," he said grumpily, sitting down next to Harry. **

**"At the World Cup, remember? But my own mother won't say. Wonder what -" **

**"SHH!" Hermione whispered suddenly, ****pressing her finger to her lips and pointing towards the compartment next to theirs. Harry and Ron listened, and heard a familiar drawling voice drifting through the open door.**

"Draco/Malfoy." Who else drawled.

**"...Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. ****He knows the Headmaster,**

"But wasn't he a traitor?" Narcissa said to Lucius innocently.

**you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore - the man's such a Mudblood-lover –**

Draco cringed.

**and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riff-raff. But Mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away." **

**"Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. ****Durmstrang students actually **_**learn**_** them, not just the defense rubbish we do..."**

"You learn them in newts, you have to." Remus whispered to him.

**Hermione got up, tiptoed to the compartment door, and slid it shut, blocking out Malfoy's voice. **

**"So he thinks Durmstrang would have suited him, does he?" she said angrily. "I wish he **_**had**_** gone, then we wouldn't have had to put up with him."**

**"Durmstrang's another wizarding school?" said Harry.**

**"Yes," said Hermione sniffily, "and it's got a horrible reputation. ****According to **_**Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe**_**, it puts a lot of emphasis on the Dark Arts.**

"They are useful." Andromeda admitted grudgingly.

**"I think I've heard of it," said Ron vaguely. "Where is it? What country?" **

**"Well, nobody knows, do they?" said Hermione, raising her eyebrows. **

**"Er - why not?" said Harry.**

**"There's traditionally been a lot of rivalry between all the magic schools. ****Durmstrang and Beauxbatons like to conceal their whereabouts so nobody can steal their secrets," said Hermione matter-of-factly.**

"No, it's so that are students are safer, at least on Beauxbatons part." Madam Maxine informed.

**"Come off it," said Ron, starting to laugh. "Durmstrang's got to be about the same size as Hogwarts, ****how are you going to hide a dirty great castle?"**

**"But Hogwarts **_**is**_** hidden," said Hermione, in surprise, "everyone knows that... ****well, everyone who's read **_**Hogwarts: A History**_**, anyway."**

"Most haven't." Someone snorted.

**"Just you, then," said Ron. "So go on - how d'you hide a place like Hogwarts?" **

**"It's bewitched," said Hermione. "If a Muggle looks at it, all they see is a moldering old ruin with a sign over the entrance saying DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE."**

"And other enchantments, that wouldn't have stopped me when I was human." Ashlyn informed.

"Yeah but you always were a rebel."

**"So Durmstrang'll just look like a ruin to an outsider, too?" **

**"Maybe," said Hermione, shrugging, "or it might have Muggle-Repelling Charms on it, like the World Cup Stadium. And to keep foreign wizards from finding it, they'll have made it unplottable -"**

**"Come again?"**

**"Well, you can enchant a building so it's impossible to plot it on a map, can't you?"**

**"Er... if you say so," said Harry.**

"You forget your not talking to Ravenclaws." Hannah laughed. "Or Susan."

**"But I think Durmstrang must be somewhere in the far north," said Hermione thoughtfully. "Somewhere very cold, because they've got fur capes as part of their uniforms."**

**"Ah, think of the possibilities, said Ron dreamily. "It would've been easy to push Malfoy off a glacier and make it look like an accident...**

The twins couldn't help it, the were gone and Draco throwing pillows made everyone follow those foot steps.

**shame his mother likes him..."**

**The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved further north. The sky was so dark and the windows so steamy that the lanterns were lit by midday. **

**The lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor, and Harry bought a large stack of Cauldron Cakes for them to share.**

"As normal." Neville chuckled, shaking his head.

**Several of their friends looked in on them as the afternoon progressed, including Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom, ****a round-faced, extremely forgetful boy who had been brought up by his formidable witch of a grandmother.**

"Why thank you." She sneered to herself.

**Seamus was still wearing his Ireland rosette. Some of its magic seemed to be wearing off now; it was still squeaking "**_**Troy! Mullet! Moran!**_**, but in a very feeble and exhausted sort of way. **

**After half an hour or so, Hermione, growing tired of the endless Quidditch talk,**

"That's about my limit." She agreed.

**buried herself once more in **_**The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4**_**, and started trying to learn a Summoning Charm.**

"I'm sure Harry is thankful for that." Sirius said running a hand through his hair. "Because I am."

**"Gran didn't want to go," he said miserably. "Wouldn't buy tickets. ****It sounded amazing, though."**

**"It was," said Ron. "Look at this, Neville ..."**

**He rummaged in his trunk up in the luggage rack, and pulled out the miniature figure of Viktor Krum.**

**"Oh, **_**wow**_**," said Neville enviously, as Ron tipped Krum onto his pudgy hand.**

"That sounds so weird out of context." Lee snickered.

**"We saw him right up close, as well," said Ron. "We were in the Top Box -"**

**"For the first and last time in your life, Weasley."**

"Any bets." Angelina said in a fake hopeful voice.

**Draco Malfoy had appeared in the doorway. Behind him stood Crabbe and Goyle, his enormous, thuggish cronies,****both of whom appeared to have grown at least a foot during the summer.**

**Evidently they had overheard the conversation through the compartment door, which Dean and Seamus had left ajar.**

They winced. "Sorry."

**"Don't remember asking you to join us, Malfoy," said Harry coolly.**

**"Weasley ... what is **_**that**_**?" said Malfoy, pointing at Pigwidgeon's cage. **

**A sleeve of Ron's dress robes was dangling from it, swaying with the motion of the train, the moldy lace cuff very obvious.**

**Ron made to stuff the robes out of sight, ****but Malfoy was too quick for him; he seized the sleeve and pulled. **

"There is a reason I'm a seeker." Draco huffed.

**"Look at this!" said Malfoy in ecstasy, ****holding up Ron's robes and showing Crabbe and Goyle. "Weasley, you weren't thinking of **_**wearing**_** these, were you? I mean - they were very fashionable in about 1890..."**

The hall couldn't help it, that one was funny.

**"Eat dung, Malfoy!" said Ron, the same colour as the dress robes as he snatched them back out of Malfoy's grip. **

**Malfoy howled with derisive laughter; Crabbe and Goyle guffawed stupidly.**

"Ignore them." Terry waved his hand.

"But that's when your venerable." Michael C pointed out.

**"So... going to enter, Weasley? ****Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? ****There's money involved as well, you know... you'd be able to afford some decent robes if you won..."**

**"**_**Are you going to enter?**_**" Malfoy repeated. "I suppose **_**you**_** will, Potter? You never miss a chance to show off, do you?"**

"Oh, will people ever get it through their thick heads." Hermione sighed.

**"Either explain what you're on about or go away, Malfoy," said Hermione testily.**

**A gleeful smile spread across Malfoy's pale face. "Don't tell me you don't **_**know**_**?" he said delightedly. **

**"You've got a father and a brother at the Ministry and you don't even **_**know**_**? My God, **_**my**_** father told me about it ages ago... heard it from Cornelius Fudge.**

"Difference being I follow the rules, and the annoyed looks on your faces where funny."

"DAD!"

**But then, Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry ... maybe your father's too junior to know about it, Weasley ... yes ... they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of him ..."**

**Laughing once more, Malfoy beckoned to Crabbe and Goyle, and the three of them disappeared. **

**Ron got to his feet and slammed the sliding compartment door so hard behind them that the glass shattered.**

**"**_**Ron!**_** said Hermione reproachfully,**

"I didn't mean it."He said in his defense.

**and she pulled out her wand, muttered "**_**Reparo!**_**", and the glass shards flew back into a single pane, and back into the door. **

**"Well ... making it look like he knows everything and we don't ..." Ron snarled. **

**"**_**Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry**_** ... dad could've got promotion any time... he just likes it where he is..."**

**"Of course he does," said Hermione quietly. "Don't let Malfoy get to you, Ron -"**

"Everyone gets to him, he got Molly's temper." Remus said under his breath making a few laugh.

**"Him! Get to me! As if!" said Ron, picking up one of the remaining Cauldron Cakes and squashing it into a pulp.**

**Ron's bad mood continued for the rest of the journey. He didn't talk much as they changed into their school robes, and was still glowering when the Hogwarts Express slowed down at last, and finally stopped in the pitch-darkness of Hogsmeade** station.

"You are ridiculous." Astoria hissed.

**As the train doors opened, there was a rumble of thunder overhead. Hermione bundled Crookshanks up in her cloak and Ron left his dress robes over Pigwidgeon as they left the train, heads bent and eyes narrowed against the downpour. **

**The rain was now coming down so thick and fast that it was as though buckets of ice-cold water were being emptied repeatedly over their heads.**

"Reminds me of when we crossed the lake." Charlie nodded to Tonks and shivered.

**"Hi, Hagrid!" Harry yelled, seeing a gigantic silhouette at the far end of the platform. **

**"All righ', Harry?" Hagrid bellowed back, waving. "See yeh at the feast if we don' drown!"**

**First-years traditionally reached Hogwarts castle by sailing across the lake with Hagrid. **

**"Oooh, I wouldn't fancy crossing the lake in this weather," said Hermione fervently,**

"You really wouldn't." Those in that year, Charlie and Tonks chorused.

**shivering as they inched slowly along the dark platform with the rest of the crowd. A hundred horseless carriages stood waiting for them outside the station. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville climbed gratefully into one of them, the door shut with a snap, and a few moments later, with a great lurch, the long procession of carriages was rumbling and splashing its way up the track towards Hogwarts castle.**

"Chapter." Lucifer announced.

Umbridge tried to talk but Kingsley quickly cut in. "I will."


	16. The Triwizard Tournament

Lucifer tossed the book up so it landed perfectly on the table

**CHAPTER TWELVE - ****THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT **Kingsley began.

**Through the gates, flanked with statues of winged boars, and up the sweeping drive the carriages trundled, swaying dangerously in what was fast becoming a gale, leaning against the window, Harry could see Hogwarts coming nearer, its many lighted windows blurred and shimmering behind the thick curtain of rain.**

Everyone smiled, it sounded like a great water colour image rather than a real place.

**Lightning flashed across the sky as their carriage came to a halt before the great oak front doors, which stood at the top of a flight of stone steps. People who had occupied the carriages in front were already hurrying up the stone steps into the castle; Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville jumped down from their carriage and dashed up the steps too,**

"Like you'd hang around in that." Bill shivered.

**looking up only when they were safely inside the cavernous, torch-lit Entrance Hall, with its magnificent marble staircase.**

**"Blimey," said Ron, shaking his head and sending water everywhere, "if that keeps up, the lake's going to overflow. ****I'm soak- ARGH!"**

Molly's head snapped up as did Arthur's and a few others.

**A large, red, water-filled balloon had dropped from out of the ceiling on top Ron's head, and exploded.**

**Drenched and spluttering, Ron staggered sideways into Harry just as a second water bomb dropped - narrowly missing Hermione, it burst at Harry's feet,****sending a wave of cold water over his trainers and into his socks.**

People shivered in their place.

**People all around them shrieked and started pushing into each other in their efforts to get out of the line of fire**

**- Harry looked up and saw, floating twenty feet above them, Peeves the Poltergeist, a little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow-tie, his wide, malicious face contorted with concentration as he took aim again.**

Suddenly Peeves who had been sat in the corner cowered under the glares of two Marauders.

**"PEEVES!" yelled Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress and Head of Gryffindor house, had come dashing out of the Great Hall; she skidded on the wet floor**

The twins whistled in surprise.

**and grabbed Hermione around the neck to stop herself falling.**

A few winced.

**"Ouch - sorry, Miss Granger -"**

**"That's all right, Professor!" Hermione gasped, massaging her throat.**

**"Peeves, get down here NOW!" barked Professor McGonagall, straightening her pointed hat and glaring upwards through her square-rimmed spectacles.**

And a lot of people flinched at the mention of that glare.

**"Not doing nothing!" cackled Peeves, lobbing a water bomb at several fifth-year girls, who screamed and dived into the Great Hall. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeeeeeee!"**

And he smartly dropped through the floor, otherwise he'd be dealing with Padfoot and Moony.

**And he aimed another bomb at a group of second-years who had just arrived.**

**"I shall call the Headmaster!" shouted Professor McGonagall. "I'm warning you, Peeves -"**

**Peeves stuck out his tongue, threw the last of his water bombs into the air, and zoomed off up the marble staircase, cackling insanely.**

"So he does have some sense." Moony raised an eyebrow.

**"Well, move along, then!" said Professor McGonagall sharply to the bedraggled crowd. "Into the Great Hall, come on!"**

**Harry, Ron and Hermione slipped and slid across the Entrance Hall and through the double doors on the right, Ron muttering furiously under his breath as he pushed his sopping hair off his face.**

"Better than it normally is." The younger Greengrass whispered.

**The Great Hall looked its unusual splendid self, decorated for the start-of-term feast. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in mid-air.**

Every student, current or former, closed their eyes for a second, picturing it.

**The four house tables were packed with chattering students; at the top of the Hall, the staff sat along one side of a fifth table, facing their pupils. It was much warmer in here.**

**Harry, Ron and Hermione walked past the Slytherins, the Ravenclaws, and the Hufflepuffs, and sat down with the rest of the Gryffindors ****at the far side of the Hall, next to Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost. Pearly white and semi-transparent, Nick was dressed tonight in his usual doublet, with a particularly large ruff, which served the dual purpose of looking extra festive and ensuring that his head didn't wobble too much on his partially severed neck.**

The Gryffindors were cheering for their ghost with gusto, making silver rise in his cheeks as a pleased smile covered his face.

**"Good evening," he said, beaming at them.**

**"Says who?" said Harry, taking off his trainers and emptying them of water.**

"Oh!" No body liked the idea of that.

**"Hope they hurry up with the Sorting, I'm starving."**

**The Sorting of the new students into houses took place at the start of every school year, but by an unlucky combination of circumstances, Harry hadn't been present at one since his own.**

**He was quite looking forward to it.**

"Why?" Someone asked though only got eye rolls, everyone had all ready guessed not to expect those two back.

**Just then, a highly excited, breathless voice called down the table, "Hiya, Harry!"**

Amused eyes turned to a blushing Creevey, the older one.

**It was Colin Creevey, a third-year to whom Harry was something of a hero.**

**"Hi, Colin," said Harry warily.**

**"Harry, guess what? Guess what, Harry? My brother's starting! My brother Dennis!"**

**"Er - good," said Harry.**

"His real thoughts." Fred.

"Oh no not another one." George as the hall cracked up laughing.

**"He's really excited!" said Colin, practically bouncing up and down in his seat. ****"I just hope he's in Gryffindor! Keep your fingers crossed, eh, Harry?"**

**"Er - yeah, all right," said Harry. He turned back to Hermione, Ron and Nearly Headless Nick. "Brothers and sisters usually go in the same house, don't they?" he said.**

"Can do." Blaise shrugged. "My older brother was a Slytherin but my sister was a Ravenclaw."

**He was judging by the Weasleys, all seven of whom had been put into Gryffindor.**

**"Oh, no, not necessarily," said Hermione. ****"Parvati Patil's twin's in Ravenclaw, and they're identical, you'd think they'd be together, wouldn't you?"**

"We're not mirror twins." They shrugged, because if you looked their was a little difference.

**Harry looked up at the staff table. There seemed to be rather more empty seats there than usual. Hagrid, of course, was still fighting his way across the lake with the first-years; Professor McGonagall was presumably supervising the drying of the Entrance Hall floor,**

"I was." Came a prim statement.

**but there was another empty chair, too, and he couldn't think who else was missing.**

**"Where's the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Hermione, who was also looking up at the teachers.**

**They had never yet had a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who had lasted more than three terms.**

**Harry's favourite by far had been**

"PROFESSOR LUPIN!" It wasn't a question to anyone.

**who had resigned last year.**

**He looked up and down the staff table. There was definitely no new face there.**

**"Maybe they couldn't get anyone!" said Hermione, looking anxious.**

"Then I would be teaching again." Dumbleore smiled.

**Harry scanned the table more carefully. Tiny little Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was sitting on a large pile of cushions beside Professor Sprout, the Herbology teacher, whose hat was askew over her flyaway grey hear.**

**She was talking to Professor Sinistra of the Astronomy department.**

**On Professor Sinistra's other side was the sallow-faced, hook-nosed, ****greasy-haired Potions master,**

The hall was snickering into their hands.

**Snape –**

**Harry's least favourite person at Hogwarts.**

**Harry's loathing of Snape was matched only by Snape's hatred of him,**

"Oh so true." The twins sung.

**a hatred which had, if possible, intensified last year, when Harry had helped Sirius escape right under Snape's overlarge nose –**

Now they couldn't hide those laughs.

**Snape and Sirius had been enemies since their own schooldays.**

**On Snape's other side was an empty seat, which Harry guessed was Professor McGonagall's. Next to it, and in the very centre of the table, sat Professor Dumbledore, ****the Headmaster, his sweeping silver hair and beard shining in the candlelight, his magnificent deep-green robes embroidered with many stars and moons.**

"He can never dress normally." Pavarti muttered.

The** tips of Dumbledore's long, thin fingers were together and he was resting his chin upon them, staring up at the ceiling through hid half-moon spectacles as though lost in thought.**

**Harry glanced up at the ceiling, too. It was enchanted to look like the sky outside, and he had never seen it look this stormy. Black and purple clouds were swirling across it, and as another thunderclap sounded outside, a fork of lightening flashed across it.**

Lucifer felt a grin spread over his face, his kind loved storms, they purified everything they touched.

**"Oh, hurry up," Ron moaned, beside Harry. "I could eat a Hippogriff."**

"Don't let Buckbeak hear that." Sirius grinned.

**The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the doors of the Great Hall opened, and silence fell. Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first-years up to the top of the Hall.**

**If Harry, Ron and Hermione were wet, it was nothing to how these first-years looked.**

"They could have drowned." Molly said angrily.

"Hagrid and the squid wouldn't let them." Remus said off handedly.

**They appeared to have swum across the lake rather than sailing. All of them were shivering with a combination of cold and nerves as they filed along the staff table and came to a halt in a line facing the rest of the school – ****all of them except the smallest of the lot, a boy with mousy hair, who was wrapped in what Harry recognised as Hagrid's moleskin overcoat.**

Everyone slowly turned to Dennis who squeaked and ducked his head.

**The coat was so big for him that it looked as though he was draped in a furry black marquee.**

**His small face protruded from over the collar, looking almost painfully excited. When he had lined up with his terrified-looking peers, he caught Colin Creevey's eyes, gave a double thumbs-up and mouthed, "I fell in the lake!"**

**He looked positively delighted about it.**

Who? I ask you who in their right mind would not laugh?

**Professor McGonagall now placed a three-legged stool on the ground before the first-years and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty, patched wizard's hat. The first-years stared at it.**

**So did everyone else.**

**For a moment, there was silence. Then a tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song:**

"No I'm not singing."

"I'll do it." Lucifer took the book back for a minute.

_**"A thousand years or more ago,**_**  
**_**When I was newly sewn,**_**  
**_**There lived four wizards of renown,**_**  
**_**Whose names are still well known:**_**  
**_**Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,**_

_**Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,**_**  
**_**Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,**_**  
**_**Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.**_**  
**_**They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,**_**  
**_**They hatched a daring plan**_**  
**_**To educate young sorcerers**_**  
**_**Thus Hogwarts School began**_

_**Now each of these four founders**_**  
**_**Formed their own house, for each**_**  
**_**Did value different virtues**_**  
**_**In the ones they had to teach.**_**  
**_**By Gryffindor, the bravest were**_**  
**_**Prized far beyond the rest**_**  
**_**For Ravenclaw, the cleverest**_**  
**_**Would always be the best**_**  
**_**For Hufflepuff, hard workers were**_**  
**_**Most worthy of admission;**_**  
**_**And power-hungry Slytherin**_**  
**_**Loved those of great ambition.**_**  
**_**While still alive they did divide**_**  
**_**Their favourites from the throng,**_**  
**_**Yet how to pick the worthy ones**_**  
**_**When they were dead and gone?**_**  
**_**'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,**_**  
**_**He whipped me off his head**_**  
**_**The founders put some brains in me**_**  
**_**So I could choose instead!**_**  
**_**Now slip me snug about your ears,**_**  
**_**I've never yet been wrong,**_**  
**_**I'll have a look inside your mind**_**  
**_**And tell where you belong!"**_

His voice wasn't quiet Gabriel's but it was still pretty incredible.

**The Great Hall rang with applause as the Sorting Hat finished.**

**"That's not the song it sang to when it sorted us," said Harry, clapping along with everyone else.**

**"Sings a different one every year," said Ron. "It's got to be a pretty boring life, hasn't it, being a hat?**

"Maybe, but you never know." Ashlyn tipped her head to the side in thought.

**I suppose it spends all year making up the next one."**

**Professor McGonagall was now unrolling a large scroll of parchment.**

**"When I call out your name, you will put on the Hat and sit on the stool," she told the first-years.**

**"When the Hat announces your house, you will go and sit at the appropriate table."**

"How much of the first day is rehearsed?" A Gryffindor muttered.

**"Ackerley, Stewart!"**

**A boy walked forward, visibly trembling from head to foot,**

"Oh I wasn't the only one."

"And you won't be the last." Minerva assured.

**picked up the Sorting Hat, put it on and sat down on the stool.**

_**"Ravenclaw!**_**" shouted the Hat.**

And the Ravens had the predicted reaction.

**Stewart Ackerley took off the Hat and hurried into a seat at the Ravenclaw table, where everyone was applauding him. Harry caught a glimpse of Cho, ****the Ravenclaw Seeker, ****cheering Steward Ackerley as he sat down. For a fleeting second, Harry had a strange desire to join the Ravenclaw table too.**

Ashlyn looked to be in thought and it hit her why Gabriel was twice as pissed as before at her father, this would not end well for someone.

**"Baddock, Malcolm!"**

**"**_**Slytherin!**_**"**

**The table on the other side of the Hall erupted with cheers; Harry could see Malfoy clapping as Baddock joined the Slytherins. Harry wondered whether Baddock knew that Slytherin house had turned out more Dark witches and wizards than any other.**

**Fred and George hissed as Malcolm Baddock as he sat down.**

They had the decency to apologize.

**"Branstone, Eleanor!"**

_**"Hufflepuff!"**_

**"Cauldwell, Owen!"**

_**"Hufflepuff!"**_

**"Creevey, Dennis!"**

The hall was bubbling at this point.

**Tiny Dennis Creevey staggered forwards, tripping over Hagrid's moleskin, just as Hagrid himself sidled into the Hall through a door behind the teachers' table.**

**About twice as tall as a normal man, and at least three times as broad, Hagrid, ****with his long, wild, tangled black hair and beard, looked slightly alarming - a misleading impression,**

"Very!" A good portion of the students agreed whole heartedly.

**for Harry, Ron and Hermione knew Hagrid to possess a very kind nature.**

"Aye!" And guess how red a cretin half-giant cheeks were.

**He winked at them as he sat down at the end of the staff table, and watched Dennis Creevey putting on the Sorting Hat. The rip at the brim opened wide -**

**"**_**Gryffindor!**_**" the Hat shouted.**

"And Harry groaned." Ron snickered to a few laughs.

**Hagrid clapped along with the Gryffindors, as Dennis Creevey, beaming widely, took off the Hat, placed it back on the stool, and hurried over to join his brother.**

**"Colin, I fell in!" he said shrilly, throwing himself into an empty seat.****"It was brilliant! And something in the water grabbed me and pushed me back in the boat!"**

"There is so something wrong with their family." The three chasers groaned.

**"Cool!" said Colin, just as excitedly. ****"It was probably the giant squid, Dennis!"**

**"**_**Wow!**_**" said Dennis, as though nobody in their wildest dreams could hope for more then being thrown into a storm-tossed, fathoms-deep lake, and pushed out of it again by a giant sea-monster.**

**"Dennis! Dennis! See that boy down there? The one with the black hair and glasses? See him?**

A few turned to glare at the blushing boy.

"Leave him be for a once." Hermione said in an exasperated voice.

_**Know who he is, Dennis?**_**"**

"Our brother Harry." The twins said simply

**Harry looked away, staring very hard at the Sorting Hat, now sorting Emma Dobbs.**

**The Sorting continued; boys and girls with varying degrees of fright on their faces moving, ****one by one, to the three-legged stool, the line dwindling slowly as Professor McGonagall passed the "L"s.**

**"Oh, hurry up," Ron moaned, massaging his stomach.**

"You and your flipping stomach." Hermione shook her head.

**"Now, Ron, the Sorting's much more important than food," said Nearly Headless Nick, ****as "Madley, Laura!" became a Hufflepuff.**

**"'Course it is, if you're dead," snapped Ron.**

Daphne batted him around the head for that comment.

**"I do hope this year's batch of Gryffindors are up to scratch," said Nearly Headless Nick, ****applauding as "McDonald, Natalie!" joined the Gryffindor table.**

**"We don't want to break our winning streak, do we?"**

**Gryffindor had won the Inter-House Championship for the last three years in a row.**

And of course the Griffins used that as an excuse to celebrate.

**"Pritchard, Graham!"**

**"**_**Slytherin!**_**"**

**"Quirke, Orla!"**

**"**_**Ravenclaw!**_

**And finally, with "Whitby, Kevin! ("**_**Hufflepuff!**_**") the Sorting ended.**

**Professor McGonagall picked up the Hat and stool, and carried them away.**

**"About time," said Ron, seizing his knife and fork and looking expectantly at his golden plate.**

"Pathetic." Blaise sneered lightly and still managed to look handsome doing it.

**Professor Dumbledore had got to his feet. He was smiling around at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome.**

**"I have only two words to say to you," he told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall.**

**"**_**Tuck in**_**."**

**"Hear, hear!" said Harry and Ron loudly, **

The hall laughed at that, most remembering hearing them.

**as the empty dishes filled magically before their eyes.**

**Nearly Headless Nick watched mournfully as Harry, Ron and Hermione loaded their plates.**

**"Aaah, 'at's be'er," said Ron, with his mouth full of mashed potato.**

The girls and a lot of guys wrinkled their noses.

**"You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know," said Nearly Headless Nick. ****"There was trouble in the kitchens earlier."**

**"Why? What' 'appened?" said Harry, through a sizeable chunk of steak.**

"He had the decency to cover his mouth." Hermione gave a pointed look to her other best friend.

**"Peeves, of course," said Nearly Headless Nick, shaking his head,**

**which wobbled dangerously. He pulled his ruff a little higher up his neck. "The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast – ****well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilized, can't see a plate of food without throwing it.**

"True."

**We held a ghosts' council - the Fat Friar was all for giving him a chance –**

"Of course." The Hufflepuffs smiled fondly.

**But, most wisely, in my opinion, the Bloody Baron put his foot down."**

"Thank you." And the ghost inclined his head slightly.

**The Bloody Baron was the Slytherin ghost, a gaunt and silent spectre covered in silver bloodstains.**

**He was the only person at Hogwarts who could control Peeves.**

"Along with the headmaster." The remaining Marauders pointed out.

"And a group of pranksters I use to know where pretty good at it." Dumbledore smiled.

**"Yeah, we thought Peeves seemed hacked off about something," said Ron darkly.**

**"So what did he do in the kitchens?"**

**"Oh, the usual," said Nearly Headless Nick, shrugging. "Wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. ****Terrified the house-elves out of their wits -"**

The poltergeist decided he was safer out of the room.

_**Clang.**_** Hermione had knocked over her golden goblet. Pumpkin juice spread steadily over the tablecloth, staining several feet of white linen orange, but Hermione paid no attention.**

**"There are house-elves **_**here**_**?" she said, staring, horror-struck at Nearly Headless Nick. "Here at **_**Hogwarts**_**?"**

"Oh no." Ron groaned. "Don't say anything just wait and see."

**"Certainly," said Nearly Headless Nick, looking surprised at her reaction. ****"The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred."**

**"I've never seen one!" said Hermione.**

"Mark of a good house-elf." A few shrugged.

**"Well, they hardly ever leave the kitchen by day, do they?" said Nearly Headless Nick.**

**"They come out at night to do a bit of cleaning ... see to the fires and so on... I mean, you're not supposed to see them, are you? That's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it, that you don't know it's there?"**

**Hermione stared at him. "But they get **_**paid**_**?" she said. "They get **_**holidays**_**, don't they? And - and sick leave, and pensions and everything?"**

"That's not what they want." Remus said quietly but knew the girl wouldn't listen.

**Nearly Headless Nick chortled so much that his ruff slipped and his head flopped off, dangling on the inch or so of ghostly skin and muscle that still attached it to his neck.**

**"Sick leaves and pensions?" he said, pushing his head back onto his shoulders and securing it once more with his ruff. "House-elves don't want sick leave and pensions!"**

"Please listen." Half of Gryffindor begged and Hermione looked like she was winding up for a big spiel. Blaise ducked down and caught her lips in a soft kiss for a few seconds, leaving her stuttering and red.

**Hermione looked down at her hardly touched plate of food, then put her knife and fork down upon it and pushed it away from her.**

**"Oh, c'mon 'Er-my-knee," said Ron, accidentally spraying Harry with bits of Yorkshire pudding.**

**"Oops - sorry, 'Arry -" He swallowed. "You won't get them sick leave by starving yourself!"**

"And I would like to inform you if the house-elfs are sick they either take time off themselves or are ordered to." Dumbledore informed.

**"Slave labour," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. **_**Slave labour**_**."**

**And she refused to eat another bite.**

**The rain was still drumming heavily against the high, dark windows. Another clap of thunder shook the windows, and the stormy ceiling flashed, illuminating the golden plates as the remains of the first course vanished and were replaced, instantly with puddings.**

I will not take time to count the number of people drooling so let us just say it's a lot.

**"Treacle tart, Hermione!" said Ron, deliberately wafting its smell towards her. "Spotted dick, look! Chocolate gateau!"**

**But Hermione gave him a look so reminiscent of Professor McGonagall that he gave up.**

Arthur covered Molly's mouth before she could start.

**When the puddings, too, had been demolished, and the last crumbs had faded off the plates, leaving them sparkling clean, Albus Dumbledore got to his feet again. The buzz of chatter filling the Hall ceased almost at once, so that only the howling wind and pounding rain could be heard.**

"Wonder what Gabriel would say." Apollo snorted.

"That it's the human version of our fathers." Lucifer grinned, leaning his head onto the others shoulder.

A rustle of wings. "Your boyfriends right." Gabriel smirked at the sun god and winked at Ashlyn who grinned back.

**"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered" ("Hmph!" said Hermione),**

"That's your own fault." Hannah pointed out.

**"I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.**

**"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. ****The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items,**

"I think I'll be reviewing that list." McGonagall told the caretaker.

**I believe, and can be viewed in Mr Filch's office, in anybody would like to check it."**

**The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched. He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students,**

"Looks at the trio and Weasley twins." Draco drawled with a grin.

**as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year.**

**"It is also my painful duty ****to inform you that the inter-house Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."**

**"**_**What**_**?" Harry gasped. He looked round at Fred and George, his fellow members of the Quidditch team.**

**They were mouthing soundlessly at Dumbledore, apparently too appalled to speak.**

"You weren't the only ones." A lot of Quidditch players said glaring at nothing.

"Yeah you didn't have to cancel it, we could have played with the tournament." The twins spoke up to firm nods from the other players.

**Dumbledore continued, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy**

"And they don't help with Quidditch, they just say the dates." Cho was none to pleased.

"We could have run it on our own as long as madam Hoche helped organize training times." One of the good players on the Slytherin team spoke up.

**- but I am sure you will enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -"**

**But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open.**

No body but the first years were surprised, well them and the adults.

**A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black travelling cloak.**

**Every head in the Great Hall swiveled towards the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark grey hair, then began to walk up towards the teachers' table.**

"He sounds lovely." Tonks grinned and laughs filled the hall.

**A dull _clunk_ echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right and limped heavily towards Dumbledore.**

**Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling. Hermione gasped.**

She just hid her face in Blaise's shoulder.

**The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and it was a face unlike any Harry had ever seen. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces were supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel.**

The hall laughed louder at that and even Moody himself cracked a grim smile.

**Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of his nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening.**

**One of them was small, dark and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving carelessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye - and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all they could see was whiteness.**

They couldn't help shivering at that.

**The stranger reached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbledore shook it, muttering words Harry couldn't hear. He seemed to be making some enquiry of the stranger, who shook his head unsmilingly and replied in an undertone. Dumbledore nodded, and gestured the man to the empty seat on his right-hand side.**

"Defense." A first year muttered to themselves.

**The stranger sat down, shook his mane of dark grey hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages towards him, raised it to what was left of his nose and sniffed it.**

"Never trust anything." Moody grunted, he knew this was the imposter but no reason to give it away.

**He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage on the end of it, and began to eat. His normal eye was fixed upon the sausages, but the blue eye was still darting restlessly around in its socket, taking in the Hall and the students.**

**"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," said Dumbledore brightly, into the silence.** **"Professor Moody."**

Umbridge sneered to herself.

**It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students clapped except Dumbledore and Hagrid.**

**Both put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped fairly quickly. Everyone seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him.**

"Not to mention the dramatics." Lee grinned.

**"Moody?" Harry muttered to Ron. "_Mad-Eye Moody?_ The one your dad went to help this morning?"**

**"Must be," said Ron, in a low, awed voice.**

**"What happened to him," Hermione whispered. "What happened to his _face_?"**

"Death Eaters." Moody grunted.

**"Dunno," Ron whispered back, watching Moody with fascination.**

**Moody seemed totally indifferent to his less-than-warm welcome.**

**Ignoring the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached again into his travelling cloak, pulled out a hip-flask, and took a long draught from it.**

Hermione and Ron both twitched slightly while the Marauders were itching to strangle someone, so was Snape but that's normal.

**As he lifted his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled a few inches from the ground, and Harry saw, below the table, several inches of carved wooden leg, ending in a clawed foot.**

**Dumbledore cleared his throat again.**

**"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, **

"You've been more popular." Our favourite pink hair Auror was treated to a writhing glare from her mentor.

**"we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century.**

**It is my great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."**

**"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly.**

No one could resist now, they burst out laughing. Molly looked appalled but was glared at by a lot of people the moment she opened her mouth.

**The tension that had filled the Hall since Moody's arrival suddenly broke... Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.**

**"I am _not_ joking, Mr Weasley," he said, "though, now you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun who all go into a bar -"**

**Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.**

"And I'm afraid I have forgotten it." Dumbledore sighed.

"Yeah right, you probable never knew one just wanted to seem cool." Apollo glared.

"Oh he probably knew one just wasn't that good." Ashlyn grinned.

**"Er - but maybe this is not the time ... no ..." said Dumbledore. "Where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament ... well, some of you will not know what this Tournament involves, so I hope those of you who _do_ know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.**

"Albus." Molly snapped but none paid attention.

**"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the tree largest European schools of wizardry - Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks.**

"That nearly got my cub killed." Remus hissed and Sirius agreed.

**The schools took it in turns to host the Tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be the most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities –**

"Makes it seem great like that didn't it?" Cedric shivered with the other two present champions.

**until, that it, the death toll mounted so high that the Tournament was discontinued."**

**"_Death toll_?" Hermione whispered, looking alarmed. But her anxiety did not seem to be shared by the majority of students in the Hall; many of them were whispering excitedly with each other,**

They flushed slightly, they really should have thought a little more.

**and Harry himself was far more interested in hearing more about the Tournament than in worrying about deaths that had happened hundreds of years ago.**

**"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the Tournament," Dumbledore continued,** "**none of which have been very successful. However, our own Department of International Magical Co-operation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. **

"Only because Fudge wants a better image." Andromeda snorted.

**We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that, this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.**

A few bitter laughs echoed and Madam Pomfrey smacked the headmaster, hard.

**"The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween.**

"We should have known then something would go wrong." Hermione huffed.

**An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."**

**"I'm going for it!" Fred Weasley hissed down the table, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches.**

He blushed brightly though no one could really say anything.

**He was not the only person who seemed to be visualising themselves as Hogwarts champion.**

**At every house table, Harry could see people either gazing raptly at Dumbledore, or else whispering fervently to their neighbours. But then Dumbledore spoke again, and the Hall quieted once more.**

**"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said,****"the Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. O****nly students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This-"**

"I can see why people where angry." Pomona whispered to Minerva who nodded.

**Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious –**

**"is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the Tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them.**

"But not everyone in Sixth year was of age so how is that fair?" The twins spoke up. Dumbledore just twinkled before yelping and grabbing the back of his head. A particular ravenette archangel was chuckling into his hands.

**I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light-blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred and George's mutinous faces.**

**"I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.**"

"You can be beaten, you do know that right?" Draco really hated that old fool, and it wasn't just because of his father.

**"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October, and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. ****I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected.**

Harry's friends, not including Ron snorted at that.

**And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning.**"

**Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Mad-Eye Moody. There was a great scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet, and swarmed towards the double doors into the Entrance Hall.**

**"They can't do that!" said George Weasley, who had not joined the crowd moving towards the door, but was standing up and glaring at Dumbledore. "We're seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot?"**

"Our point." Dumbledore blushed at that.

"I'm afraid I did not think."

"Don't look so smug." Apollo's lips grazed the archangels ear.

"I'll try."

**"They're not stopping me entering," said Fred stubbornly, also scowling at the top table.**

**"The champions'll get to do all sorts of stuff you'd never be allowed to do normally. And a thousand Galleons prize money!"**

"Is not all it seems." Someone muttered.

**"Yeah," said Ron, a faraway look on his face. "Yeah, a thousand Galleons ..."**

**"Come on," said Hermione, "we'll be the only ones left here if you don't move."**

**Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George set off for the Entrance Hall, Fred and George debating the ways in which Dumbledore might stop those who were under seventeen entering the Tournament.**

"Didn't figure it out though." Lee sniggered.

**"Who's the impartial judge who's going to decide who the champions are?" said Harry.**

**"Dunno," said Fred, "but it's them we'll have to fool. I reckon a couple of drops of Ageing Potion might do it, George …"**

"If only it were a person." They sighed but the grins just made everyone crack up.

**"Dumbledore knows you're not of age, though," said Ron.**

**"Yeah, but he's not the one who decides who the champion is, is he?" said Fred shrewdly. "Sounds to me like once this judge knows who wants to enter, he'll choose the best from each school and never mind how old they are.**

"Unfortunately." Remus and Sirius muttered, thinking about Harry.

**Dumbledore's trying to stop us giving our names."**

**"People have died, though!" said Hermione in a worried voice, as they walked through a door concealed behind a tapestry and started up another, narrower staircase.**

**"Yeah," said Fred airily, "but that was years ago, wasn't it? Anyway, where's the fun without a bit of risk?**

"But that risk also makes it anything but fun. Have you gambled with Gabriel, Hermes or Apollo, it will not end well." Quiet a lot of people snorted at Ashlyn's words but others looked weary while Lucifer snickered to himself

**Hey, Ron, what if we find out how to get round Dumbledore? Fancy entering?"**

**"What d'you reckon?" Ron asked Harry. "Be cool to enter, wouldn't it? But I s'pose they might want someone older ... dunno if we've learnt enough ..."**

**"I definitely haven't," came Neville's gloomy voice from behind Fred and George. "I expect my gran'd want me to try, though, she's always going on about how I should be upholding the family honour.**

"You don't need to." Luna said dreamily and Neville smiled while Neville's grandmother, she's been quiet hasn't she, contemplated what her grandson was saying, why would he assume that.

**I'll just have to - oops ..."**

**Neville's foot had sunk right through a step halfway up the staircase. There were many of these trick stairs at Hogwarts; it was second nature to most of the older students to jump this particular step, but Neville's memory was notoriously poor.**

The boy himself had to laugh at that with everyone else but at least it was better now thanks to the DA learning to use the spells was pointless if you couldn't remember them.

**Harry and Ron seized him under the armpits and pulled him out, while a suit of armour at the top of the stairs creaked and clanked, laughing weezily.**

**"Shut it, you," said Ron, banging down its visor as they passed.**

And it wouldn't be right if people didn't laugh.

**They made their way up to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, which was concealed behind a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress.**

**"Password?" she said, as they approached.**

**"Balderdash," said George, "a Prefect downstairs told me."**

**The portrait swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall, through which they all climbed. A crackling fire was warming the circular common room, which was full squashy armchairs and tables. **

A lot of people were envious, why did they have such a homey one, don't get them wrong, they loved their common rooms, they just weren't as inviting.

**Hermione cast the merrily dancing flames a dark look, and Harry distinctly heard her mutter "slave labour****",**

A resounding thud was heard as several, lots of, people banged their heads on something.

**before bidding them goodnight, and disappearing through the doorway to the girls' dormitories.**

**Harry, Ron and Neville climbed up the last, spiral staircase until they reached their own dormitory, which was situated at the top of the Tower. Five four-poster beds with deep crimson hangings stood against the walls, each with its owner's trunk at the foot. Dean and Seamus were already getting into bed; Seamus had pinned his Ireland rosette to his headboard, and Dean had tacked up a poster of Viktor Krum over his bedside table. His old poster of West Ham football team was pinned right next to it.**

"Why do you bother taking that down?" Neville chuckled and the dark skinned boy just shrugged.

**"Mental," Ron sighed, shaking his head at the completely stationary soccer players.**

The muggle raised let their eyes go towards heaven.

**Harry, Ron and Neville got into their pyjamas and into bed. Someone - a house-elf, no doubt - had placed warming pans between the sheets. It was extremely comfortable, lying there in bed and listening to the storm raging outside.**

"Why does he find storms calming?" Hermione hummed.

"His parents were the same." The marauders, Andromeda and Minerva chimed.

**"I might go in for it, you know,"," Ron said sleepily through the darkness, "if Fred and George find out how to ... the Tournament ... you never know, do you?"**

**"S'pose not ..." Harry rolled over in bed, a series of dazzling new pictures forming in his mind's eye... He had hoodwinked the impartial judge into believing he was seventeen ... He had become Hogwarts champion …**

"Ah, how dreams deceive you." Cedric shivered and Fleur and Viktor agreed whole heartedly and he sure had it worse than them.

**He was standing in the grounds, his arms raised in triumph in front of the whole school, all of whom were applauding and screaming ... he had just won the Triwizard Tournament... Cho's face stood out particularly clearly in the blurred crowd, her face glowing with admiration...**

Cho blushed but scowled, Harry had been a good catch and she doubted Cedric would want her now but then Harry was with that Slytherin, she sneered in her head but then felt a pressure building getting worse and worse until it throbbed with every pluse and she was smart enough to realise she'd just pissed off Gabriel.

**Harry grinned into his pillow, exceptionally glad that Ron couldn't see what he could.**

"Chapter."

"And dinner I believe, then the day is your's." Dumbledore smiled.


	17. Break

Things were pretty calm after a mostly calm chapter and the gang decided that walking was a good idea after so long cooped up in the hall.

Fleur and Bill talked quietly, seeming content with each other, Tonks and Remus were talking, drifting closer every now and then which the three Blacks noticed and grinned to each other.

Blaise couldn't help grin while he talked with bushy haired Gryffindor, her head leaning gently against his shoulder, their fingers interlaced.

Ashlyn had changed her clothes slightly, the chiton now went half way down her thigh over crimson leggins, her golden sandles criss crossed over her calf so she could jump on Apollo's back, making the god laugh and swing her around bridal style.

The twins were laughing, well flirting was a better word, with fall archangel who suddenly grabbed their waists, pulling them towards him and making them flush then start the flirting again, something said that them, Ashlyn and Apollo would have a complex but very, very good relationship.

* * *

(A/N: Harry/Theo moment and it's a little more than just fluff)

Harry and Theo moaned into each others mouths as they finished, pulling apart the covers tangled around their legs. Both were flushed in the face a sheen of sweat making the sheets stick to their skin and their hair was damp and ruffled.

"We've been up here nearly four hours." Theo smirked nuzzling his babies neck, nipping at one of the many love bites.

"Explains why I feel like I won't be able to walk for a week." Harry half whined half moaned. "As much as I love this I'm to tired." His breath was getting heavier by the second as the Slytherins hand slid over his hip and he made up his mind, he flipped them over, kissing his boyfriend.

"Let's see how you like it."

* * *

Ginny was plotting, how the hell was she going to get that thing away from what was hers but that stupid angel, more like demon, was getting in the way of everything, what could she do?

* * *

Umbitch was fuming, if it weren't for those stupid angels then the brat would be dead by now. He was a nasty little liar who needed t be dealt with now but she couldn't do it with them around. She shook her head, that filthy half-blood had corrupted, good, purebloods just like his filthy mudblood mother.

* * *

Through all of this the archangels fought hard, cutting the monsters down but no matter what the waves weren't stopping any time soon and Cronus was getting closer to the front line.


	18. Mad-Eyed Moody

When everyone got to the hall the next day it was to see Harry and Theo curled up on a sofa already and to hear a shed load of teasing for the pair.

"I think we should read." Remus chuckled opening the book.

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN - MAD-EYE MOODY**

**The storm had blown itself out by the following morning, ****though the ceiling in the Great Hall was still gloomy; heavy clouds of pewter grey swirled overhead**

"You and being bloody ominous." Lee groaned.

"Blame the Scottish weather." The reply came in the form of a sleepy mumble.

"Did you two sleep last night?" Angelina laughed.

"Define last night." Theo yawned to a round of laughs.

** as Harry, Ron and Hermione examined their new timetables at breakfast. A few seats along, Fred, George and Lee Jordan were discussing magical methods of ageing themselves and bluffing their way into the Triwizard Tournament.**

**"Today's not bad ... outside all morning," said Ron, who was running his finger down the Monday column of his timetable, "Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures ... damn it, we're still with the Slytherins ..."**

"Harry will be happy about that now." Hermione snickered.

"And you won't?" Katie teased.

**"Double Divination this afternoon," Harry groaned, looking down. **

**Divination was his least favourite subject, apart from Potions.**

**Professor Trelawney kept predicting Harry's death, **

A few turned to glare at the divination teacher who had smartly kept her mouth shut most of the time.

**which he found extremely annoying. **

And that got a few more laughs.

**"You should have given it up like me, shouldn't you?" said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. **

Hermione squeaked and blushed. "Okay I can be really annoying."

**"Then you'd be doing something sensible like Arithmancy." **

**"You're eating again, I notice," said Ron, watching Hermione add liberal amounts of jam to her buttered toast.**

**"I've decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights," said Hermione haughtily.**

**"Yeah ... and you were hungry," said Ron, grinning. **

More where laughing at that and knew it was true.

**There was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows, carrying the morning mail. Instinctively, Harry looked up, but there was no sign of white among the mass of brown and grey.**

"She does stand out a mile." Neville shrugged.

"One of the many reasons I love her." Harry smiled.

**The owls circled the tables, looking for the people to whom their letters and packages were addressed. A large tawny owl soared down to Neville Longbottom and deposited a parcel in his lap - Neville almost always forgot to pack something. **

Said boy threw his head back with a laugh as a few others chuckled.

**On the other side of the Hall Draco Malfoy's eagle owl had landed on his shoulder, carrying what looked like his usual supply of sweets and cakes from home. **

The blond whistled innocently getting even more laughs.

**Trying to ignore the sinking feeling of disappointment in his stomach, Harry returned to his porridge. **

"Sorry Pup." Harry waved it away.

**Was it possible that something had happened to Hedwig, and that Sirius hadn't even got his letter?**

**His preoccupation lasted all the way across the sodden vegetable patch until they arrived in greenhouse three, but here he was distracted by Professor Sprout showing the class the ugliest plants Harry had ever seen. **

"BUBOTUBERS!" Said class groaned.

**Indeed, they looked less like plants then thick giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly, and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared full of liquid.**

**"Bubotubers," Professor Sprout told them briskly. "They need squeezing. You will collect the pus – **

Other squealed in disgust.

**"The what****?" said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted. **.

**"Pus, Finnigan, pus," said Professor Sprout, "and it's extremely valuable, so don't waste it. ****You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves, it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, Bubotuber pus."**

Hermione shivered.

**Squeezing the Bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of thick yellowish green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol. **

"Petrol?"

"Fuel for cars."

**They caught it in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints. **

**"This'll keep Madam Pomfrey happy," said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. "an excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, Bubotuber pus. ****Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples." **

A few snickered while other shivered.

**"Like poor Eloise Midgen," said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. "She tried to curse hers off."**

**"Silly girl," said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. "But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end." **

The hall was roaring.

"Oh shut it." That just made it worse.

**A booming bell echoed from the castle across the wet grounds signalling the end of the lesson, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs climbing the stone steps for Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors heading in the other direction, down the sloping lawn towards Hagrid's small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. **

**Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand on the collar of his enormous boarhound, Fang. **

People smiled at the big softies mention.

**There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. **

**As they drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions. **

"Blast-Ended Skrewts." Harry and Cedric shivered in time.

**"Mornin'!" Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this - Blast-Ended Skrewts!" **

**"Come again?" said Ron. **

**Hagrid pointed down into the crates.**

**"Eurgh!" squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backwards. **

"She either squeals or gossips." Hermione pointed out to laughs and one heated glare that she easily shrugged off.

**"Eurgh" just about summed up the Blast-Ended Skrewts, in Harry's opinion. They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. **

"I wish they'd stayed like that." Cedric shuddered.

**There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over each other, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes.** **They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. **

A few gagged in remembrance

**Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a Skrewt and, with a small phut****, it would be propelled forwards several inches. **

"Sounds like a bad cartoon character." Dennis snickered to some agreement.

**"On'y jus' hatched," said Hagrid proudly, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!" **

**"And why would we want**** to raise them?" said a cold voice. **

And without fail everyone in the group turned to Draco.

"We already know it's me so don't bother."

**The Slytherins had arrived. **

**The speaker was Draco Malfoy.**

**Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at his words. **

"That's all they're capable of." Ron muttered.

**Hagrid looked stumped at the question. **

**"I mean, what do they do?" asked Malfoy. "What is the point**** of them?" **

**Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds' pause, then he said roughly, "Tha's next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. **

"Nice answer." A few teachers mumbled.

**Now yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few diff'rent things - I've never had 'em before, not sure what they'll go fer - I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass-snake - jus' try 'em out with a bit of each."**

**"First pus and now this," muttered Seamus. **

"Oh so true." The Gryffindors said in long suffering voices.

**Nothing but deep affection for Hagrid could have made Harry, Ron and Hermione pick up squelched handfuls of frog liver and lower them into the crates to tempt the Blast-Ended Skrewts. **

Hagrid gave a slightly watery smile.

**Harry couldn't suppress the suspicion that the whole thing was entirely pointless, because the Skrewts didn't seem to have mouths.**

**"Ouch!****" yelled Dean Thomas, after about ten minutes. "It got me!" **

Dean absently rubbed his hand.

**Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious.**

**"It's end exploded!" said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand.**

**"Ah, yeah, that can sometimes happen when they blast off," said Hagrid, nodding.**

**"Eurgh!" said Lavender Brown again. "Eurgh, Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?" **

"I just realized he is the only teacher we don't call professor." A third year pointed out.

"Hagrids just like that."A few told him.

**"Ah, some of 'em have stings," said Hagrid enthusiastically (Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box). **

**"I reckon they're the males ... the females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies ... I think they might be ter suck blood."**

**"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," said Malfoy sarcastically. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting and bite all at once?" **

"They'd make great guards if you could control them." Harry mused before shuddering.

**"Just because they're not very pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful," Hermione snapped. "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?" **

**Harry and Ron grinned at Hagrid, who gave them a furtive smile from behind his bushy beard. Hagrid would have liked nothing better than a pet dragon, as Harry, Ron and Hermione knew only too well – **

"Ah Norberta." Charlie sighed. "She's got a vile temper but is one of the only dragons that'll let you close."

**he had owned one for a brief period during their first year, ****a vicious Norwegian Ridgeback by the name of Norbert.**

**Hagrid simply loves monstrous creatures - the more lethal, the better. **

People shook their heads fondly.

**"Well, at least the Skrewts are small," said Ron, as they made their way back up to the castle for lunch an hour later. **

**"They are now****," said Hermione in an exasperated voice, "but once Hagrid's found out what they eat, I expect they'll be six feet long." **

"If only." Cedric groaned. "I hope there all dead."

**"Well, that won't matter if they turn out to cure sea sickness or something, will it?" said Ron, grinning slyly at her. **

**"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up," said Hermione. **

**"As a matter of fact I think he's right. ****The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all." **

"I wish we had." Harry groaned getting sympathy from many.

**They sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that Harry and Ron stared at her. **

**"Er - is this your new stand of elf rights?" said Ron. "You're going to make yourself puke instead?" **

"That would make them feel guilty." Sirius pointed out.

**"No," said Hermione, with as much dignity she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. ****"I just want to get to the library." **

People glared at her and started muttering about spew.

**"What?****" said Ron in disbelief. "Hermione - it's the first day back! We haven't even got homework yet!"**

**Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days. **

**Then she leapt to her feet, said, "See you at dinner!" and departed at high speed. **

They shook their heads and Hermione blushed brightly much to her now boyfriends amusement.

**When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry and Ron set off for North Tower where, at the top of a tightly spiralling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and the room where Professor Trelawney lived. **

"The human version of hell."

"Don't compare my kingdom to _that._"

**The familiar sweet perfume emanating from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. As ever, the curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. **

**Harry and Ron walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room, and sat down at the same small circular table. **

**"Good day," said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump.**

"Pathetic." Sybil reared but couldn't do anything.

**A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear far too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with the tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. **

McGonagall walked over and hit her in the back of the head.

"Leave my Lions be." And they roared for the leader of the pride.

**The usual large amounts of beads, chains and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight. **

**"You are preoccupied, my dear," she said mournfully to Harry."My Inner Eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas ... most difficult ... I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass ... and perhaps sooner than you think ..." **

"General predictions that will almost always be true." Apollo pointed out disgusted.

**Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who looked stonily back. Professor Trelawney swept past them and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who deeply admired Professor Trelawney, were sitting on poufs very close to her. **

"Of course." Padma put her head into her hands.

**"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars," she said. "The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance. **

"I think Artemis may kill, and I might help." Ashlyn muttered.

**Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle ..."**

**But Harry's thoughts had drifted. The perfume fire always made him feel sleepy and dull-witted, ****and Professor Trelawney's rambling talks on fortune-telling never held him exactly spellbound – **

"Firenze is a much better teacher." Luna agreed.

"Thank you." A lot jumped as Moody roared, yep you guessed.

"Constant Vigilance."

**though he couldn't help thinking about what she had just said to him.**

**But Hermione was right, Harry thought irritably, Professor Trelawney really was an old fraud. **

**He wasn't dreading anything at the moment at all ... well, unless you counted his fears that Sirius had been caught ... ****but what did Professor Trelawney know? **

Pomona decided to copy McGonagall and make the over grown bug yelp.

**He had long since come to the conclusion that her brand of fortune-telling was really no more than luck guess-work and a spooky manner. **

**Except, of course, for that time at the end of last term, when she had made the prediction about Voldemort rising again... ****and Dumbledore himself had said that he thought that trance had been genuine, when Harry had described it to him... **

Apollo nodded. "But keep in mind most prophecies are self-fulfilling."

**"Harry!****" Ron muttered. **

**"What?"**

**Harry looked around; the whole class was staring at him. **

**He sat up straight; he had almost been dozing off, lost in the heat and his thoughts. **

"Mr Potter if you are ever in a lesson like that again at least do something productive."

"Yes Professor Flitwick."

**"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn," said Professor Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on her words. **

"Of course not, my baby's smarter than that." Theo smiled kissing his boyfriend gently who nuzzled into his side.

**"Born under - what, sorry?" said Harry. **

**"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!" said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn't riveted by this news. **

**"I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth... your dark hair...**

"From his father and something all Potters have." Minerva pointed.

**your mean stature... **

"A trait of both his parents at that age." Pomona tacked on.

**tragic losses so young in life... **

"Blame Voldyshorts." Terry grinned.

**I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in mid-winter?" **

People burst out laughing.

**"No," said Harry, "I was born in July." **

And even more

**Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough. **

Do I even need to bother.

**Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment of birth. **

Ashlyn closed her eyes focusing and snapped her fingers. The room darkened and stars sparkled on the enchanted ceiling. "Harry's." She shrugged. "I am the Goddess of Time and Space, if anyone should be able to do it it's me."

**It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles. **

**"I've got two Neptunes here," said Harry after a while, frowning down at a piece of parchment, "that can't be right, can it?"**

**"Aaaaah," said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney's mystical whisper, "when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses in being born, Harry ..." **

The hall was in hysteric.  
**  
Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly, though not loudly enough to mask the excited squeals from Lavender Brown -**

A few groans.

**"Oh, professor, look! I think I've got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one's that, Professor?"**

**"It is Uranus, my dear," said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart. **

**"Can I have a look at Uranus, too, Lavender?" said Ron.**

**Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, which made her give them so much homework at the end of class. **

The ones who had been in that class happily slapped him.

**"A detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming month will affect you, with reference to your personal chart," she snapped, sounding more like Professor McGonagall than her usual airy-fairy self. "I want it ready to hand in next Monday, and no excuses!" **

**"Miserable old bat," said Ron bitterly, as they joined the crowds descending the staircases back to the Great Hall and dinner. "That'll take all weekend, that will ..." **

"Unless we use the old fall back." Harry hummed and many divination students nodded.

**"Lots of homework?" said Hermione brightly, catching up with them. "Professor Vector didn't give us**** any at all!"**

**"Well, bully for Professor Vector," said Ron moodily. **

Septima raised an eyebrow making Ron blush.

**They reached the Entrance Hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. **

**They had just joined the end of the line, when a loud voice rang out behind them.**

**"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"**

**Harry, Ron and Hermione turned. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something. **

George used that moment to pull Draco into a head lock and start messing up his hair to yelps and protests.

**"What?" said Ron shortly. **

**"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet****, and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed Entrance Hall could hear. **

**"Listen to this!" **

**FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC **

"It's the Ministry!" And that explained it all.

**It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, writes **

"Let me guess the initials are RS." Susan shook her head in disgust.

**Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. **

"Lying Correspondent more like." Hermione glared and Theo tightened his arms around his boyfriend.

**Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, **

"One it's Arthur and two who cares, we all know about the flying car." Lee rolled his eyes

**of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.** **Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, **

"Our point." Neville agreed.

**was yesterday involved with a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ('policemen') over a number of highly aggressive dustbins.**

**Mr Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. **

"Constant Vigilance." They jumped out of their skin at Michael's sudden appearance and disappearance making Harry giggle and the remaining archangel wink at him.

**Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet ****questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene.**

"Because it had to be dealt with regardless." Amelia sniffed and glared at a to smug toad.

**"And there's a picture, Weasley!" said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. "A picture of your parents outside their house - if you can call it a house! ****Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?" **

Molly mumbled to her self along the lines of 'you try having seven children' and the women nodded their heads.

**Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him. **

**"Get stuffed, Malfoy," said Harry. **

**"C'mon, Ron ..."**

**"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter?" sneered Malfoy. "So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?" **

People leaned forward and Harry quickly shot Narcissa an apologetic look.

**"You know your**** mother, Malfoy?" said Harry - both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron's robes to stop him launching himself at Malfoy – **

"This will be good." A few laughed at the twins but listened just as eagerly.

"What you gonna say pup because it's pretty hard to insult Cissa without lying when it comes to looks."

"Thank you Siri."

**"That expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose?**

Said person raised her eyebrow.

"You really did." Andi smirked slightly.

**Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?" **

Everyone was roaring in laughter and Harry blushed slightly.

**Malfoy's pale face went slightly pink. "Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter." **

**"Keep your fat mouth shut, then," said Harry, turning away. **

"It's a good job Ron's got you." Arthur shook his head with a small smile.

**BANG**!

Every Gryffindor slowly turned to Draco while standing up. They erupted as one and the young Malfoy feared for his life until Harry whistled.

"And seventy people ganging up on one is fair, he learnt his lesson." Harry glared coldly and when people paused Draco moved quickly to sit next to him and the ravenette leaned into his friend, still glaring at others.

"Thank you."

"Any time."

**Several people screamed - Harry felt something white-hot graze the side of his face – ****he plunged his hand into his robes for his wand, ****but before he'd even touched it, he heard a second loud BANG, and a roar which echoed through the Entrance Hall.**

**"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!" **

People broke into mad giggles, oh they remembered this story.

**Harry spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing.**

Harry giggled and Draco squeezed him a little to hard for a second before nuzzling Harry's hair to hide the pretty blush on his pale cheeks.

**There was a terrified silence in the Entrance Hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Harry - at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head. **

**"Did he get you?" Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly.**

**"No," said Harry, "missed." **

"Good." Theo leaning around to poke the blond in the ribs.

**"LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.**

**"Leave - what?" Harry said, bewildered.**

**"Not you - him!" Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody's rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head. **

"You have to admit it is useful." Moody grunted his agreement to Tonks.

**Moody started to limp towards Crabbe, Goyle and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking towards the dungeons.**

**"I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again - it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor , and then bounced upwards once more. **

People winced, ten feet as a human hurts never mind a ferret.

**"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled Moody, ****as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do..." **

"But also smart." Harry mused.

**The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly.**

**"Never - do - that - again -" said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upwards again.**

**"Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice. **

**Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books. **

"Minnie to the rescue." Remus laughed slightly, Sirius barking.

**"Hello, Professor McGonagall," said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher. **

**"What - what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret's progress through the air.**

**"Teaching," said Moody.**

**"Teach- Moody, is that a student****?" shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms.**

"Awww! We tried so hard!" The trio whined and sulked making others laugh.

**"Yep," said Moody. **

**"No!" cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blonde hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. **

**He got to his feet, wincing. **

"Wait, doesn't that class as physical abuse?" Angelina pointed out and the teachers nodded.

**"Moody, we never**** use Transfiguration as a punishment!" said Professor McGonagall weakly. "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?" **

**"He might've mentioned it, yeah," said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, ****"but I thought a good sharp shock -"**

"Works but is unethical." Pomona said firmly.

**"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!" **

**"I'll do that, then," said Moody, staring at Malfoy with great dislike.**

**Malfoy, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation,**

Draco groaned and moved to nuzzle Harry's neck, hiding more.

**looked malevolently up at Moody and muttered something in which the words "my father" were distinguishable.**

**"Oh yeah?" said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. "Well, I know your father of old, boy ... you tell him Moody's keeping a close eye on his son ... you tell him that from me ... Now, your Head of House'll be Snape, will it?"**

**"Yes," said Malfoy resentfully.**

**"Another old friend," growled Moody.**

"He was a shockingly good actor." Minerva mumbled.

**"I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape ... come on, you ..." And he seized Malfoy's upper arm and marched him off towards the dungeons.**

**Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few moments, then waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms. **

"Matrix." A few of the muggle raised burst out laughing.

**"Don't talk to me," Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione, as they sat own at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talks on all sides about what had just happened.**

**"Why not?" said Hermione in surprise.**

**"Because I want to fix that in my memory for ever," said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. **

Draco growled and Ron flinched.

**"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret ..."**

**Harry and Hermione both laughed, **

"Sorry." The blond hummed in reply.

**and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates.**

**"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though," she said. "It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it -"**

**"Hermione!" said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again. "You're ruining the best moment of my life!" **

"She's right though." Alica shuddered at the thought.

**Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed again.**

**"Don't tell me you're going back to the library this evening?" said Harry, watching her.**

**"Got to," said Hermione thickly. "Loads to do." **

**"But you told us Professor Vector -" **

**"It's not schoolwork," she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed. **

The groans were a lot loader than they'd heard so far.

**No sooner had she gone than her seat was taken by Fred Weasley. "Moody!" he said. "How cool is he?" **

**"Beyond cool," said George, sitting down opposite Fred. **

**"Supercool," said the twins' best friend, Lee Jordan, sliding into the seat beside George. **

**"We had him this afternoon," he told Harry and Ron.**

**"What was it like?" said Harry eagerly. **

**Fred, George and Lee exchanged looks full of meaning. **

"Lee's almost like a third one." People shuddered while Harry threw his head back laughing.

**"Never had a lesson like it," said Fred.**

**"He knows****, man," said Lee.**

**"Knows what?" said Ron, leaning forward.**

**"Knows what it's like to be out there doing it****," said George impressively.**

**"Doing what?" said Harry. **

**"Fighting the Dark Arts," said Fred. **

"He ain't the only one." And someone shot Harry a look to get a glare from a pissed off Slytherin boyfriend.

**"He's seen it all," said George.**

**"'Mazing," said Lee.**

**Ron dived into his bag for his timetable.**

**"We haven't got him 'til Thursday!" he said in a disappointed voice. **

"Good!" Harry and Neville spat together.

"Chapter!"


	19. The Unforgivable Curses

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN - ****THE UNFORGIVABLE CURSES **Tonks gulped as others paled and several war orphans flinched violently.

**The next two days passed without great incident, unless you counted Neville melting his sixth cauldron in Potions. **

"We don't." Most people chorused much to Lady Longbottom chagrin.

**Professor Snape, who seemed to have attained new levels of vindictiveness over the summer, **

"And we didn't think it was possible." The twins sighed to a few laughs.

**gave Neville detention, and Neville returned from it in a nervous state of collapse, having been made to disembowel a barrelful of horned toads.**

**"You know why Snape's in such a foul mood, don't you?" said Ron to Harry, as they watched Hermione teaching Neville a Scouring Charm to remove the toad guts from under his fingernails.**

**"Yeah," said Harry. "Moody." **

"Wasn't hard to figure out." Smith sneered.

**It was common knowledge that Snape really wanted the Dark Arts job, and he now failed to get it for the fourth year running.**

**Snape had disliked all of their previous Dark Arts teachers, and shown it – ****but he seemed strangely wary of displaying overt animosity to Mad-Eye Moody. **

Snape glared at the ravenette who's eyes flashed Hazel.

**Indeed, whenever Harry saw the two of them together - at mealtimes, or when they passed in the corridors - he had the distinct impression that Snape was avoiding Moody's eye, whether magical or normal. **

People, as always looked impressed at the teens observation skills.

**"I reckon Snape's a bit scared of him, you know," Harry said thoughtfully.**

**"Imagine if Moody turned Snape into a horned toad," said Ron, his eyes misting over, "and bounced him all around his dungeon ..."**

They knew they shouldn't laugh but, wouldn't you?

**The Gryffindor fourth-years were looking forward to Moody's first lesson so much that they arrived early after lunch on Thursday and queued up outside his classroom before the bell had even rung. **

Said students shivered now.

**The only person missing was Hermione, who turned up just in time for the lesson.**

**"Been in the -"**

**"- library," Harry finished her sentence for her. **

A few chuckles went through the room.

**"C'mon, quick, or we won't get decent seats."**

**They hurried into three chairs right in front of the teacher's desk,**

**took out copies of **_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection**_**, and waited, unusually quiet. Soon they heard Moody's distinctive clunking footsteps coming down the corridor, and he entered the room, looking as strange and frightening as ever. **

Tonks snickered while Moody just grunted.

**They could just see his clawed, wooden foot protruding from underneath his robes.**

**"You can put those away," he growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them."**

**They returned the books to their bags, Ron looking excited. **

"Don't until you know your teacher." Sirius said well, I'm not even gonna go there.

**Moody took out a register, shook his long mane of grizzled grey hair out of his twisted and scarred face and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list while his magical eye swiveled around, fixing upon each student as he or she answered.**

**"Right then," he said, when the last person had declared themselves present, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin****about this class. **

"Ah Remus, ever the smart one." Andromeada grinned as the werewolf flushed slightly.

**Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures - you've covered Boggarts,****Red Caps, Hinkypunks,****Grindylows,****Kappas and werewolves, ****is that right?"**

**There was a general murmur of assent. **

**"But your behind - very behind - on dealing with curses," said Moody. **

"That we were." Hermione huffed.

**"So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark -"**

**"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out. **

**Moody's magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; Ron looked extremely apprehensive, but after a moment Moody smiled - the first time Harry had seen him do so. **

**The effect was to make his heavily scarred face look more twisted and contorted than ever, **

"That's one of the reason's he does it." Kingsley informed.

**but it was nevertheless a relief to know that he ever did anything as friendly as a smile.**

**Ron looked deeply relieved.**

**"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" Moody said. "Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago...****yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore... one year, and then back to my quiet retirement."**

"Quiet!" All the Aurors snorted, no good Auror had a quiet retirement.

**He gave a harsh laugh, and then clapped his gnarled hands together.**

**"So - straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you counter-curses and leave it at that. **

"Because you don't need to know the curses for the OWL curriculum."

**I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in sixth year. ****You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it 'til then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, **

Many a person glared at the headmaster and started shouting at him, guessing what was coming, but this was for the war, he needed Harry to be at the right stage. He suddenly felt a spike of pain in his head and saw the fallen archangel smile at him.

**and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. ****How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? **

"So if caught with an unknown spell in battle you automatically lose." Susan hummed, looking fake thoughtful which made a few laugh.

**A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. ****You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking."**

**Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing Parvati her completed horoscope under the desk. **

"Miss Brown." McGonagall snapped and Lavender looked sheepish.

"Sorry Professor."

**Apparently Moody's magical eye could see through solid wood, as well as out of the back of his head.**

**"So... do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"**

**Several hands rose tentatively in the air, including Ron's and Hermione's. Moody pointed at Ron, though his magical eye was still fixed on Lavender.**

**"Er," said Ron tentatively, "my dad told me about one... is it called the Imperius curse, or something?" **

"Or something, honestly." Daphne sighed and her sister nodded her head.

**"Ah, yes," said Moody appreciatively. "Your father **_**would**_** know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius curse."**

**Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large, black spiders was scuttling around inside it.**

**Harry felt Ron recoil slightly next to him - Ron hated spiders. **

"You really can't tell." Astoria snarked.

**Moody reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders and held it in the palm of his hand so that they could all see it.**

**He then pointed his wand at it, and muttered, "**_**Imperio!**_**"**

**The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk, and began to swing backwards and forwards as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a backflip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.**

**Everyone was laughing - everyone except Moody. **

"It's anything but funny." Narcissa shivered and both her cousin and sister put their arms around her.

**"Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"**

**The laughter died away almost instantly.**

**"Total control," said Moody quietly, as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats..." **

A lot of people winced.

**Ron gave an involuntary shudder.**

**"Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius curse," said Moody, ****and Harry knew he was talking about the days in which Voldemort had been all-powerful. **

More shudders, they hadn't connected that.

**"Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will.**

**"The Imperius curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, ****but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it.****Better avoid being hit with it if you can. ****CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he barked, and everyone jumped. **

They did now and glared at Tonks, who's hair had gone bright yellow.

**Moody picked up the somersaulting spider and threw it back into the jar. "Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?"**

**Hermione's hand flew into the air again and so, to Harry's slight surprise, did Neville's.**

**The only class in which Neville usually volunteered information was Herbology, which was easily his best subject. **

"He's the best in the school." Terry Boot pointed out which made Neville flush, and the red only got darker as many others nodded.

**Neville looked surprised at his own daring.**

**"Yes?" said Moody, his magical eye rolling right over to fix on Neville.**

**"There's one - the Cruciatus curse," said Neville, in a small but distinct voice.**

**Moody was looking very intently at Neville, this time with both eyes. **

People who had experienced that shivered.

**"Your name's Longbottom?" he said, his magical eye swooping down to check the register again.**

**Neville nodded nervously, but Moody made no further enquiries. Turning back to the class at large, he reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it upon the desktop, ****where it remained motionless, apparently too scared to move. **

They winced in sympathy, well Ron didn't but he soon would.

**"The Cruciatus curse," said Moody. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," **

"They shouldn't get the idea, they're to young." Molly snapped and everyone agreed with her on this.

**he said, pointing his wand at the spider. "**_**Engorgio!**_**"**

**The spider swelled. It was now larger than a tarantula. Abandoning all pretence, Ron pushed his chair backwards, as far away from Moody's desk as possible.**

**Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, "**_**Crucio!**_**" **

Breath caught in throats and they found it hard to breath hearing that word.

**At once, the spider's legs bent upon its body; it rolled over and began to twitch horribly, rocking from side to side. No sound came from it, but Harry was sure that if it could have given voice, it would have been screaming. **

A few had tears in the eyes and just thinking of it some of the younger ones curled up into balls the older ones of their houses wrapping them in hugs to comfort them.

**Moody did not remove his wand, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently –**

**"Stop it!" Hermione said shrilly.**

**Harry looked around at her. She was looking, not at the spider, but at Neville, and Harry, following her gaze, saw that Neville's hands were clenched upon the desk in front of him, his knuckles white, his eyes wide and horrified. **

Nevilled swallowed and bowed his head as Daphne came and sat next to him, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders.

**Moody raised his wand. The spider's legs relaxed, but it continued to twitch.**

**"**_**Reducio**_**," Moody muttered, and the spider shrank back to its proper size. He put it back into the jar.**

**"Pain," said Moody softly. "You don't need thumbscrews ****or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus curse... that one was very popular once, too." **

"Still is, they just don't get caught." Narcissa closed her eyes and rested her head against her cousins shoulder.

**"Right... anyone know any others?"**

**Harry looked around. From the looks on everyone's faces, he guessed they were all wondering what was going to happen to the last spider.**

**Hermione's hand shook slightly as, for the third time, she raised it into the air.**

**"Yes?" said Moody, looking at her.**

**"**_**Avada Kedavra**_**," Hermione whispered. **

A lot of the older people flinched away.

**Several people looked uneasily around at her, including Ron.**

**"Ah," said Moody, another slight smile twisting his lop-sided mouth. "Yes, the last and worst. **

"It's not." Lucifer shivered, he knew pain was worse than death.

_**Avada Kedavra**_**... the Killing curse."**

**He put his hand into the glass jar, and almost as though it knew what was coming, the third spider scuttled frantically around the bottom of the jar, trying to evade Moody's fingers, but he trapped it, and placed it upon the desktop.**

**It started to scuttle frantically across the wooden surface. **

People held their breaths and Luna was crying silently.

**Moody raised his wand, and Harry felt a sudden thrill of foreboding.**

**"**_**Avada Kedavra!**_**" Moody roared.**

**There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air - instantaneously the spider rolled over onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. **

More were crying now, and the younger ones who were being hugged curled further into the older ones.

**Several of the girls stifled cries; Ron had thrown himself backwards and almost toppled off his seat as the spider skidded towards him.**

**Moody swept the dead spider off the desk onto the floor.**

**"Not nice," he said calmly. "Not pleasant. And there's no counter-curse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it,****and he's sitting right in front of me." **

People looked at the boy-who-lived. Who was currently asleep, curled up under his lovers arms.

**Harry felt his face redden as Moody's eyes (both of them) looked into his own.**

**He could feel everyone else looking around at him, too. Harry stared at the blank blackboard as though fascinated by it, but not really seeing it at all...**

**So that was how his parents had died... ****exactly like that spider. Had they been unblemished and unmarked, too? Had they simply seen the flash of green light and heard the rush of speeding death, before life was wiped from their bodies? **

Theo kissed the lightning shaped scar and hugged the other closer, gently shifting the ravenette into his lap.

**Harry had been picturing his parents' deaths over and over again for three years now, ever since he had found out they had been murdered, ever since he'd found out what had happened that night: how Wormtail had betrayed his parents' whereabouts to Voldemort, ****who had come to find them at their cottage. How Voldemort had killed Harry's father first. **

That was the first flinch, not from the name Voldemort but from the mention of another's death.

**How James Potter had tried to hold him off, while he shouted at his wife to take Harry and run... **

Sirius and Remus were crying.

**and Voldemort had advanced on Lily Potter, told her to move aside so that he could kill Harry ... how she had begged him to kill her instead, refused to stop shielding her son ... and so Voldemort had murdered her, too, before turning his wand on Harry... **

So many people looked sick and gave the sleeping one quick glances.

**Harry knew these details because he had heard his parents' voices when he had fought the Dementors last year – ****for that was the terrible power of the Dementors: to force their victim to relive the worst memories of their life, and drown, powerless, in their own despair... **

It wasn't just fear in the room it was the element of horror simple words could bring to one room when they knew it was real.

**Moody was speaking again, from a great distance, it seemed to Harry. With a massive effort, ****he pulled himself back to the present, and listened to what Moody was saying.**

**"Avada Kedavra's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it - you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nose-bleed. But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it."**

**"Now, if there's no counter-curse, why am I showing you? **_**Because you've got to know**_**. **

"We know." Neville gasped out.

**You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, and the whole class jumped again.**

**"Now ... those three curses - Avada Kedavra, Imperius and Cruciatus - are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. ****That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice **_**constant, never-ceasing vigilance**_**. **

"They just children, not warriors." Molly hissed out and others nodded, feeling sick.

**Get out your quills ... copy this down ..."**

**They spent the rest of the lesson taking notes on each of the Unforgivable Curses. No one spoke until the bell rang - but when Moody had dismissed them and they had left the classroom, a torrent of talk burst forth. Most people were discussing the curses in awed voices –**

**"Did you see it twitch?" "- and when he killed it - just like that!" **

"HOW DARE YOU!" McGonagall screeched as she stood and looked at her fifth years. "I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT YOU WOULD REALISE JUST WHAT THOSE CURSES MEANT BUT EVIDENTLY NOT! THOMAS, BROWN, PATIL, FINNIGAN AND WEASLEY, ALL OF YOU WILL BE SERVING DETENTION WITH ME AFTER DINNER AS WILL ANYONE ELSE WHO FAILS TO GRASP HOW DARK THOSE CURSES ARE!" McGonagall knew who it was from the guilty looks and while she had been shouting Harry had woken up, he still didn't want to hear this so easily fell back to sleep.

**They were talking about the lesson, Harry thought, as though it had been some sort of spectacular show, but he hadn't found it very entertaining – and nor, it seemed, had Hermione.**

**"Hurry up," she said tensely to Harry and Ron.**

**"Not the ruddy library again?" said Ron.**

**"No," said Hermione curtly, pointing up a side passage. "Neville." **

"Wait, so you noticed Neville not Harry?" Daphne raised her eyebrow and Hermione blushed brightly.

**Neville was standing alone, halfway up the passage, staring at the stone wall opposite him with the same horrified, wide-eyed look he was worn when Moody had demonstrated the Cruciatus curse.**

**"Neville?" Hermione said gently.**

**Neville looked around.**

**"Oh, hello," he said, his voice much higher than usual. "Interesting lesson, wasn't it? I wonder what's for dinner, I'm - I'm starving, aren't you?" **

Luna moved and like Daphne wrapped an arm around Neville but she also pressed a gentle kiss to his temple before resting her head on his shoulder.

**"Neville, are you all right?" said Hermione.**

**"Oh, yes, I'm fine," Neville gabbed, in the same unnaturally high voice. "Very interesting dinner - I mean lesson - what's for eating?"**

**Ron gave Harry a startled look.**

**"Neville, what -?"**

**But an odd clunking noise sounded behind them, and they turned to see Professor Moody **

Jaws clenched at the thought of that.

**limping towards them. All four of them fell silent, watching him apprehensively, but when he spoke, it was in a much lower and gentler growl than they had yet heard.**

**"It's all right, sonny," he said to Neville."Why don't you come up to my office? Come on ... we can have a cup of tea..."**

**Neville looked even more frightened at the prospect of tea with Moody. **

"Can't blame him."

**He neither moved nor spoke.**

**Moody turned his magical eye upon Harry. "You all right, are you, Potter?"**

**"Yes," said Harry, almost defiantly. **

Theo rolled his eyes before locking them back onto his love. He was as love sick as possible and he couldn't care less.

**Moody's blue eye quivered slightly in its socket as it surveyed Harry.**

**Then he said, "You've got to know. It seems harsh, maybe, **_**but you've got to know**_**. No point pretending ... well ... come on, Longbottom, I've got some books that might interest you."**

**Neville looked pleadingly at Harry, Ron and Hermione, but they didn't say anything, so Neville had no choice but to allow himself to be steered away, one of Moody's gnarled hands on his shoulder.**

"Sorry." The two awake ones muttered.

**"What was that about?" said Ron, watching Neville and Moody turn the corner.**

**"I don't know," said Hermione, looking pensive.**

**"Some lesson, though, eh?" said Ron to Harry, as they set off for the Great Hall. **

Ron let out an extremely loud yelp as everyone of his siblings (not Ginny) hit him then he trembled in fear as Theo glared at him, his normally crystal like eyes burning.

**"Fred and George were right, weren't they? He really knows his stuff, Moody, doesn't he? When he did Avada Kedavra, the way that spider just **_**died**_**, just snuffed it right -"**

**But Ron fell suddenly silent at the look on Harry's face, **

"Took you long enough." Fleur hissed and hit the youngest Weasley male.

**and didn't speak again until they reached the Great Hall, when he said he supposed they had better make a start on Professor Trelawney's predictions tonight, as they would take hours.**

**Hermione did not join in with Harry and Ron's conversation during dinner, but ate furiously fast and ****then left for the library again. **

People rolled their eyes.

**Harry and Ron walked back to Gryffindor Tower, and Harry, who had been thinking of nothing else all through dinner, now raised the subject of the Unforgivable Curses himself.**

**"Wouldn't Moody and Dumbledore be in trouble with the Ministry if they knew we'd seen the curses?" Harry asked, as they approached the Fat Lady. **

"I actually want to know the answer to that question." Harry mumbled as he woke up.

"Yes Mr Potter I assure you of that, and no Albus you won't be getting off, this requires no trial other than veritaserum and that will only determine how long in Azkaban you spend." Amelia informed coldly.

**"Yeah, probably," said Ron. "But Dumbledore's always done things his way, ****hasn't he, and Moody's been getting in trouble for years, I reckon.****Attacks first and asks questions later – ****look at his dustbins.**

And the echoed with snickers.

**Balderdash."**

**The Fat Lady swung forwards to reveal the entrance hole, and they climbed into Gryffindor common room, which was crowded and noisy.**

**"Shall we get our Divination stuff, then?" said Harry. **

**"I s'pose," Ron groaned.**

**They went up to the dormitory to fetch their books and charts, and found Neville there alone, sitting on his bed, reading. He looked a good deal calmer than at the end of Moody's lesson, **

"Good." Pomona huffed, she was not happy.

**though still not entirely normal. His eyes were rather red.**

Luna tightened her arm while the Herbology Professor glared at Dumbledore along with most of the other teachers.

**"You all right, Neville?" Harry asked him.**

**"Oh yes," said Neville, "I'm fine, thanks. Just reading this book Professor Moody lent me ..." He held up the book: **_**Magical Mediterranean Water-Plants and Their Properties**_**. **

Harry almost hissed, would have done if Theo hadn't kissed him lightly.

**"Apparently, Professor Sprout told Professor Moody I'm really good at Herbology," Neville said. There was a faint note of pride in his voice that Harry had rarely heard there before. "He thought I'd like this."**

**Telling Neville what Professor Sprout had said, Harry thought, had been a very tactful way of cheering Neville up, for Neville very rarely heard that he was good at anything.**

**It was the sort of thing Professor Lupin would have done. **

Harry winced a little but others nodded.

**Harry and Ron took their copies of **_**Unfogging the Future**_** back down to the common room, found a table and set to work on their predictions for the coming month. An hour later, they had made very little progress, though their table was littered with bits of parchment bearing sums and symbols, and Harry's brain was as fogged as though it had been filled with the fume from Professor Trelawney's fire.**

"It's the association of divination with that room." Apollo explained absently.

**"I haven't got a clue what this lot's supposed to mean," he said, staring down at a long list of calculations.**

**"You know," said Ron, whose hair was on end because of all the times he had run his fingers through it in frustration, "I think it's back to the old Divination standby."**

**"What - make it up?"**

"I can't blame you." Many a person mumbled.

**"Yeah," said Ron, sweeping the jumble of scrawled notes off the table, dipping his pen into some ink and starting to write.**

**"Next Monday," he said, as he scribbled, "I am likely to develop a cough, owing to the unlucky conjunction of Mars and Jupiter." He looked up at Harry. "You know her - just put in loads of misery, she'll lap it up."**

**"Right," said Harry, crumpling up his first attempt and lobbing it over the heads of a group of chattering first-years into the fire.**

**"OK ... on Monday, **_**I**_** will be in danger of - er - burns."**

"You has Skrewts that day." Smith noted hautily.

**"Yeah, you will be," said Ron darkly, "we're seeing the Skrewts again on Monday. **

And you can estimate the amount of laughter.

**OK, Tuesday, **_**I'll**_** ... erm ..."**

**"Lose a treasured possession," said Harry, who was flicking through **_**Unfogging the Future**_** for ideas.**

**"Good one," said Ron, copying it down. "Because of ... erm ... Mercury. Why don't you get stabbed in the back by someone you thought was a friend?"**

Harry flinched into his lover and snuggled closer and Ron's eyes clouded over.

**"Yeah ... cool ..." said Harry, scribbling it down, "because ... Venus is in the twelfth house."**

**"And on Wednesday, I think I'll come off worst in a fight."**

**"Aaah, I was going to have a fight. OK, I'll lose a bet."**

**"Yeah, you'll be betting I'll win my fight ..." **

A few people were laughing, they had to admit this was entertaining.

**They continued to make up predictions (which grew steadily more tragic) ****for another hour, while the common room around them slowly emptied as people went up to bed. Crookshanks wandered over to them, leapt lightly into an empty chair, and stared inscrutably at Harry, rather as Hermione might look if she knew they weren't doing their homework properly. **

"Well pets do become like their owners, look at the Lycans, it's like having another four Gabriels running around." Lucifer shivered to be hit by the goddess of time and space.

"That's my best friend you're talking about."

**Staring around the room, trying to think of a kind of misfortune he hadn't yet used, Harry saw Fred and George sitting together against the opposite wall, heads together, quills out, poring over a single piece of parchment.**

**It was most unusual to see Fred and George hidden away in a corner and working silently; they usually liked to be in the thick of things, and the noisy centre of attention. **

They grinned brightly at that.

**There was something secretive about the way they were working on the piece of parchment, and Harry was reminded of how they was sat together writing something back at The Burrow.**

**He had thought then that it was another order form for **_**Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes**_**, but it didn't look like that this time; **

Now the twins rolled their eyes.

"What on earth are you up to!" Molly snapped but the twins shrugged and didn't answer.

**if it had been, they would surely have let Lee Jordan in on the joke. He wondered whether it had anything to do with entering the Triwizard Tournament.**

**As Harry watched, George shook his head at Fred, scratched something out with his quill and said, in a very quiet voice that nevertheless carried across the almost deserted room, "No - that sounds like we're accusing him. Got to be careful ..."**

**Then George looked over and saw Harry watching him. Harry grinned, and quickly returned to his predictions - he didn't want George to think he was eavesdropping.**

That twin gently hit the boys arm with a mock accusing look.

**Shortly after that, the twins rolled up their parchment, said goodnight and went off to bed.**

**Fred and George had been gone ten minutes or so when the portrait hole opened and Hermione climbed into the common room, ****carrying a sheaf of parchment in one hand and a box whose contents rattled as she walked, in the other.**

The Gryffindors closed their eyes as if in pain knowing what this was about.

**Crookshanks arched his back, purring.**

**"Hello," she said, "I've just finished!"**

**"So have I!" said Ron triumphantly, throwing down his quill.**

**Hermione sat down, laid the things she was carrying in an empty armchair and pulled Ron's predictions towards her. **

"Of course she does." Someone mumbled and Blaise pulled Hermione closer.

**"Not going to have a very good month, are you?" she said sardonically, as Crookshanks curled up in her lap.**

**"Ah well, at least I'm forewarned," Ron yawned.**

**"You seem to be drowning twice," said Hermione.**

**"Oh, am I?" said Ron, peering down at his predictions. "I'd better change one of them to getting trampled by a rampaging Hippogriff."**

**"Don't you think it's a bit obvious you've made this up?" said Hermione. **

"You'd think wouldn't you." Padma shook her head, she'd never get why her sister liked divination.

**"How dare you!" said Ron, in mock outrage. "We've been working like house-elves here!"**

**Hermione raised her eyebrows. **

"It's an expression Hermione." Draco rolled his eyes.

**"It's just an expression," said Ron hastily. **

The platinum blond just shrugged.

**Harry laid down his quill, too, having just finished predicting his own death by decapitation.**

**"What's in the box?" he asked, pointing at it.**

**"Funny you should ask," said Hermione, with a nasty look at Ron.**

**She took off the lid, and showed them the contents.**

**Inside were about fifty badges, all of different colours, but all bearing the same letters: S. P. E. W.**

The groans of shear pain.

**"'Spew'?" said Harry, picking up a badge and looking at it. "What's this about?"**

**"Not **_**spew**_**," said Hermione impatiently. "Its S - P - E - W. **

"Which spells spew." Theo grinned and Harry caught the pillow that was thrown at his boyfriend.

**Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."**

**"Never heard of it," said Ron.**

**"Well, of course you haven't," said Hermione briskly, "I've only just started it."**

**"Yeah?" said Ron in mild surprise. "How many members have you got?"**

**"Well - if you two join - three," said Hermione. **

"When did they say they'd join?" Luna pointed out reasonably though she was as dreamy as ever.

**"And you think we want to walk around wearing badges saying 'spew', do you?" said Ron.**

**"S - P - E - W!" said Hermione hotly.**

**"I was going to put Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status – **

Forget being polite, everyone was laughing outright, the three blacks were holding each other up.

**but it wouldn't fit. So that's the heading of our manifesto."**

**She brandished the sheaf of parchment at them. "I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can't believe no one's done anything about it before now."**

**"Hermione - open your ears," said Ron loudly. "They. Like. It. They **_**like**_** being enslaved." **

"Listen to him, he's right." Lucifer told her, wiping away a tear.

"He's right Hermione." Gabriel grinned as all the archangels appeared, still in battle armour but blood free. "And we just need to wait for Kronus to make his next move."

"Oh Gabriel how I have missed you." Ashlyn seemed teary all of a sudden.

"I've missed you to." Gabriel opened her arms for a hug and the goddess ran into them. They hugged and 'cried' while the other archangels and immortals laughed outright, most people just look bemused.

**"Our short-term aims," said Hermione, speaking even more loudly than Ron, and acting as though she hadn't heard a word, "are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand-use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly unrepresented." **

"Because mostly they aren't miss treated." People were staring at Ashlyn and Gabriel who were collapsed on the sofa with their arms around each other and were surprised when a Lycan, Lupa and Tiger appeared and play wrestled, surprisingly evenly matched.

"That's my sacred animal, her name is Stripes." Ashlyn explained.

**"And how do we do all this?" Harry asked.**

**"We start by recruiting members," said Hermione happily. "I thought two Sickles to join - that buys a badge - and the proceeds can fund our leaflet campaign. You're treasurer, Ron - I've got you a collecting tin upstairs - and Harry, you're secretary, so you might want to write down everything I'm saying now, as a record of our first meeting." **

The word pushy was going through everyone's head and that included Hermione her self.

**There was a pause in which Hermione beamed at the pair of them, and Harry sat, torn between exasperation at Hermione, and amusement at the look on Ron's face. ****The silence was broken, not by Ron, who in any case looked as though he was temporarily dumbstruck, but by a soft **_**tap, tap**_** on the window.**

**Harry looked across the now empty common room, and saw, illuminated by the moonlight, a snowy owl perched on the window-sill. **

Harry grinned to himself.

**"Hedwig!" he shouted, and he launched himself out of his chair and across the room to pull open the window.**

**Hedwig flew inside, soared across the room and landed on the table on top of Harry's predictions.**

**"About time!" said Harry, hurrying after her.**

**"She's got an answer!" said Ron excitedly, pointing at the grubby piece of parchment tied to Hedwig's leg. **

"Of course she does, it's Hedwig." Dean pointed out.

**Harry hastily untied it and sat down to read it, whereupon Hedwig fluttered onto his knee, hooting softly.**

**"What does it say?" Hermione asked breathlessly.**

**The letter was very short, and looked as though it had been scrawled in a great hurry. Harry read it aloud: **

"Why do you always do that?" Theo muttered in his ear.

_**Harry -**_

_**I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached me here.**_

_**If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore - they're saying he's got Mad-Eye Moody out of retirement, which means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is.**_

_**I'll be in touch soon. My best to Ron and Hermione. Keep your eyes open, Harry.**_

_**Sirius**_"

Sirius went into shock when his cousins started to hit him.

"Do you have any idea how much that would worry him?" Andromeada hissed. People had to admit it was funny watching the two sisters beat up their cousin.

**Harry looked up at Ron and Hermione, who stared back at him.**

**"He's flying north?" Hermione whispered. "He's coming **_**back**_**?"**

**"Dumbledore's reading what signs?" said Ron, looking perplexed. "Harry - what's up?"**

**For Harry had just hit himself in the forehead with his fist, jolting Hedwig out of his lap. **

Narcissa hit her cousin square in the stomach

**"I shouldn't've told him," Harry said furiously.**

**"What are you on about?" said Ron, in surprise.**

**"It's made him think he's got to come back!" said Harry, ****now slamming his fist on the table so that Hedwig landed on the back of Ron's chair, hooting indignantly. "Coming back because he thinks I'm in trouble! **

"I'm your godfather, I'm suppose to be there for you."

"And you wouldn't be if you got caught." Harry mumbled into his boyfriends shoulder.

**And there's nothing wrong with me! And I haven't got anything for you," Harry snapped at Hedwig, who was clicking her beak expectantly, "you'll have to go up to the Owlery if you want food." **

Harry winced before cringing into himself.

**Hedwig gave him an extremely offended look and took off for the open window, cuffing him around the head with her outstretched wing as she went. **

That made people chuckle.

**"Harry," Hermione began, in a pacifying sort of voice.**

**"I'm going to bed," said Harry shortly. "See you in the morning."**

**Upstairs in the dormitory he pulled on his pyjamas and got into his four-poster, but he didn't feel remotely tired.**

**If Sirius came back and got caught, it would he his, Harry's fault. **

Sirius opened his mouth to say something but Azreal covered his mouth, talking Harry out of this wasn't a good idea.

**Why hadn't he kept his mouth shut? A few seconds' pain and he'd had to blab ...**

**if he'd just had the sense to keep it to himself ...**

**He heard Ron come up into the dormitory a short while later, but did not speak to him. For a long time, Harry lay staring up at the dark canopy of his bed. The dormitory was completely silent, and, had he been less preoccupied, Harry would have realised that the absence of Neville's usual snores meant that he was not the only one lying awake. **

Theo frowned as Tonks announced the end of the chapter and then Dumbledore announced lunch.


End file.
